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AMERICAN  COMMISSIONER-GENERAL. 


PARTS  EXPOSITION  OF  1S7S. 


* 


IN  ’78 


THE  PARIS  EXPOSITION  OF  1878, 

ITS 

Side-Shows  and  Excursions; 

INCLUDING 

TRAVEL  AND  ADVENTURE 

IN 

BELGIUM,  GERMANY,  ON  THE  RHINE,  ACROSS  TEE  SWISS 
ALPS,  IN  ITALY  AND  THE  TYROL. 


By  HENRY  MORFORD, 

.SnO.tor  nl  JN  Yu."  “  OVEft  Rea,''  “  <  i  r )  I  m  ;  To  J’a.ms.'’  (1878),  .v.\ 


NEW  YORK: 

GEO.  \V.  CARLETON  &  CO.,  Madison  Square  ;  and 
MORFORD’S  TRAVEL- PUBLICATION  OFFICE,  52  Broadway. 

LONDON  : 

SAMPSON  LOW,  MARSTON,  SEA  RLE  A  RIVINGTON. 

1379. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879, 

By  Henry  Morford, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


Trocadero  Palace  and  Park, 

Paris  Exposition  of  1878. 

From  Scribner's  Monthly. 


'EOtfie  MiL-n-Aiat" 


(BARRACKS) 


From  Scribner1  s  Monthly. 


RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 


TO 


Gov.  Richard  C.  McCormick, 


Paris 


Exposition 


Universal 


OF  187  6. 


IN  RECOGNITION  OF  HIS 


Eminent  Services,  in  that  Position, 

TO 

American  Art,  American  Invention, 


HONOR  OF  AMERICA,  GENERA  ELY. 


Paris  Exposition  of  1878. 

( From  Scribner' s  Monthly .) 


‘aovrvd  nivm  'awoa  hsnxod  is3M 


Paris  Exposition  of  1878. 

(From  Scribner’s  Monthly.) 


TANIA  HIH0N  ‘30VTO  ORadVOORl 


PREFACE. 


It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  success  of  a  previous  volume  of  the 
same  character — “Paris  in  ’67,”  issued  by  the  same  publishers,  and  giving 
an  account  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  that  year,  with  travels  in  various  parts 
of  Europe  made  convenient  by  it — was  the  principal  incitement  to  the  repe¬ 
tition  of  the  experiment,  in  the  publication  of  “Paris  and  Half-Europe  in 
•78.”  Originally,  it  was  intended  to  publish  during  the  last  winter  ;  but 
various  causes,  principal  among  which  may  be  named  the  impossibility  of 
earlier  completing  some  of  the  most  interesting  papers,  including  travels  in 
Belgium,  Germany,  on  the  Rhine,  across  the  Swiss  Alps,  in  Italy  and  the 
Tyrol,  have  delayed  the  issue  until  the  present  month.  It  is  believed,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  publication  will  not  be  the  less  welcome,  coming  fresh  at  a 
season  when  the  book  will  be  found  an  invaluable  travel-companion  in  the 
countries  named,  as  well  as  in  that  “Paris  ’  of  which  it  treats  at  length. 
Meanwhile,  the  fact  now  evident,  that  no  other  work,  of  a  popular  character, 
describing  the  Exposition  of  1878,  and  giving  the  “Excursions”  incited  by 
it,  will  be  issued  from  the  American  press,  must  both  make  it  welcome  to  the 
general  reader  and  give  it  a  permanent  value.  Attention  should  be  called 
to  the  incidental  circumstance,  that  when  the  first  portions  of  the  book  were 
put  in  type,  Bayard  Taylor,  then  our  Minister  to  Germany,  and  to  whom 
allusion  was  made  at  length  in  the  “Opening,”  was  still  alive  and  so 
written  of  ;  and  it  has  been  thought  better  to  explain  the  incongruity  by  a 
note,  than  to  change  the  expressions  then  appropriate  and  now  so  painfully 
interesting. 

New  York,  July,  1879. 


PARIS  AND  HALF-EUROPE  IN  78. 


X. 

THE  CHANGES  OF  ELEVEN  YEARS. 

Eleven  years  ago,  at  Interlaken,  then  and  there  named  “  the 
heart  of  the  Bernese  Oberland,”  were  written  the  first  words 
of  the  description  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  that  year,  and 
the  romantic  excursions  over  a  part  of  the  Continent  made 
possible  from  it— “  Paris  in  ’67.”  At  the  end  of  that  space, 
assuming  the  pen  for  a  similar  labor  with  reference  to  the  Ex¬ 
position  of  1878,  what  changes  come  immediately  into 
thought! — what  spectres  from  a  past  even  no  farther  removed, 
start  into  view  and  bid  all  other  speculations  pause  until  they 
shall  have  been  considered  ! 

Changes  indeed  ! — not  only  in  the  personnel  surrounding  the 
writer  as  he  proceeds,  but  in  the  world  in  which  he  yet  has 
the  privilege  of  moving,  feeling  and  remembering,  while  so 
many  others  have  ceased  from  all  those  privileges,  in  the  state 
which  we  dimly  know  as  Life  ! 

1867.  At  the  height  of  his  glory,  then,  in  the  presumed  per¬ 
manency  of  his  imperial  power  and  the  consciousness  that 
around  him,  as  around  Solomon  of  old  when  the  monarchs  of 
all  the  East  came  to  witness  his  greatness,  moved  the  rulers 
and  notables  of  a  world, — was  Napoleon  III.,  Emperor  of  the 
French,  and  exponent  of  the  Idees  Napoleonennes  which  had 
their  origin  with  his  mighty  uncle  and  the  virtual  founder 
of  his  race.  A  man  of  past  middle  age,  though  bearing 
his  years  bravely  ;  with  the  heavy  brows,  furtive  eyes  and 
prominent  nose  of  his  semi-Italian  race,  mellowed  not  a 
little  by  time,  and  the  heavy  gray  of  hair  and  mustache 
tending  naturally  to  the  advantage  of  his  appearance,  how¬ 
ever  they  might  declare  the  advance  of  years.  A  sombre, 


6 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


silent  man,  as  ever  ;  but  a  successful  one,  and  in  that  success, 
with  an  air  of  ease  to  which  his  earlier  years  had  necessarily 
been  strangers,  and  a  hold  on  the  mind  of  the  world  to  which 
that  world  would  have  been  slow  to  confess  at  five  years 
earlier  in  his  career.  Only  three  years  removed  from  the 
Franco-German  war  and  Sedan;  and  yet  with  no  shadow  of 
his  coming  fate  thrown  over  the  brilliancy  of  his  position  or 
the  pride  of  the  land  which  he  had  certainly  conducted  to  a 
glory  eclipsing  that  of  its  most  successful  past — who  could 
avoid,  catching  glimpses  of  him  during  that  wonderful  sum¬ 
mer,  as  he  walked  habitually  and  unattended  in  the  midst  of 
the  blended  crowds  of  his  people  and  the  visitors  from  other 
lands,  saying  below  the  breath:  “This  man  is  the  Man  of 
Destiny,  all  said  and  done  :  and  let  no  one,  henceforward,  doubt 
that  due  persistence  in  the  attainment  of  any  aim,  is  sure  to 
bring  success  at  the  end.”  “  The  end  !  ” — ah,  that  was  not  yet ; 
but  our  blinded  eyes  could  not  see  it ;  and  so  the  proudest 
monarch  upon  earth  moved  before  our  view,  in  the  richest 
capital  of  that  earth,  and  so  surrounded  with  sovereigns  for 
the  time  tributary  to  his  position,  that  he  seemed  to  have 
culminated  to  the  utmost  possible  in  the  culminating  years  of 
the  world. 

Beside  the  Emperor,  as  at  times  he  appeared  in  carriage  or 
at  the  great  State  festivals,  Eugenie,  born  Countess  de  Montijo, 
and  raised,  after  many  vicissitudes  and  not  a  few  dangerous 
passages  in  life,  to  be  Empress  of  the  French  and  the  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Josephine.  A  tall,  stately,  handsome  woman,  then 
only  beginning  to  fade  a  trifle,  and  with  her  oval  face  and 
golden  blonde  hair  so  familiar  to  the  world  in  the  pictures  of 
Winterhalter  (the  best  of  them  that  under  the  broad  chapeau 
paille),  that  not  even  an  attempt  at  description  is  necessary. 
Popular  with  the  French  people  from  her  admitted  goodness 
of  personal  life  and  her  understood  religious  sentiments,  and 
yet  always  a  trifle  feared  and  disliked  from  the  belief  that  she 
was  instrumental  in  bending  the  actions  of  the  Empire  too 
much  toward  the  interests  of  the  Papacy.  The  first  female 
reigning-consort  then  upon  earth,  beyond  a  question,  the  place 


CHANGES  OF  ELEVEN  YEARS. 


7 


of  her  husband  and  her  personal  popularity  both  being  taken 
into  t he  account ;  not  hardened  yet,  as  was  he,  by  those  awful 
griefs  and  those  grim  necessities  lying  only  three  years  in 
the  future  and  to  have  their  long  sequence  at  Chiselhurst. 

There  was  a  third  in  this  combination — a  third,  in  whose 
destinies  those  of  both  the  others  promised  to  combine  in  the 
coming  years.  The  Prince  Imperial  of  France,  a  handsome, 
mannerly  lad  of  eleven,  with  much  more  of  the  mother  than 
the  father  in  his  face,  and  but  little  promise  of  strength  to 
meet  any  of  the  rougher  vicissitudes  of  the  future — as  some 
of  us  saw  the  little  fellow  more  than  once,  alighting  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  Grand  Hotel,  or  similarly  elsewhere,  with 
officers  of  the  imperial  household  in  attendance,  to  visit  those 
older  than  himself  who  happened  there  to  be  domiciled,  with 
claims  upon  his  boyish  courtesy.  At  that  time,  creating  the 
indefinable  impression  that  he  was  a  little  dazed  by  the  brill¬ 
iant  sunlight  of  imperial  position,  and  that  he  might  have 
been  happier  in  the  company  of  humbler  companions,  with 
bat  and  ball,  or  a  pony  to  ride,  in  a  very  different  and  distant 
scene.  Here,  too,  the  shadow  of  the  future  had  not  yet  fallen, 
even  if  the  boyish  mind  had  been  capable  of  realizi  ng  it. 
Disinherited,  exiled,  orphaned  of  a  father — all  these  were  yet 
to  be.  So  was  the  study  in  an  English  military  college,  with 
the  gradual  coming  back  to  the  knowledge  of  the  world, 
through  the  friendship  of  the  British  Court  and  the  efforts  of 
those  who  did  not  intend  that  the  French  Empire  should  die 
with  Napoleon  III.  So  was  that  yet  indefinite  future  (who 
can  read  it?)  in  which  he  may  fail  altogether  and  for  all  his 
life  ;  or  merely  lie  in  temporary  eclipse  of  long  years,  like  his 
strange  father  ;  or  carry  out  the  rumors  of  this  year,  marry  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  sister  of  the  King  of  that 
country  yet  to  be,  of  the  future  Empress  of  Russia  and  the 
future  Queen  of  England,  and  thus  and  with  the  will  of  the 
powerful  Bonapartist  section  of  France,  come  to  be  Napoleon 
IV.,  and  to  revenge  Sedan  as  his  sire  long  revenged  Waterloo. 

So  much  for  the  ruler  of  the  French  and  his  personal  sur¬ 
roundings.  Of  the  nation,  Alsace  and  Lorraine  a  part  of  the 


Alas !  [ July >  1879.] 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


8 


Empire,  and  the  grand  old  Cathedral  of  Strasbourg  looking 
over  fortifications  manned  by  Frenchmen  and  threatening  the 
Germans  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine  ;  prosperity  appar¬ 
ently  real  and  exceptional,  with  no  shadow  of  the  territorial 
loss  so  soon  to  come,  the  humiliations  in  arms,  the  occupation 
of  her  cities  by  a  cruel  foe  who  remembered  Waterloo,  the 
Commune  and  the  Republic,  the  payment  of  a  fine  that  would 
have  crushed  any  other  nation  of  the  world  into  bankruptcy, 
the  rapid  and  wondrous  rising  from  humiliation  to  a  pros¬ 
perity  scarcely  paralleled  even  in  the  past. 

Germany  as  during  any  year  since  her  arising  from  the 
reverses  of  1806-1809.  King  William  of  Prussia  growing  old, 
with  the  wonderful  memories  of  his  youth  as  yet  uneclipsed 
by  the  greater  realities  of  1871  ;  the  Crown  Prince,  husband 
of  the  eldest  Princess  of  England,  but  with  his  fame  in  arms 
entirely  second  to  that  of  the  Red  Prince;  Von  Moltke  only 
revolving  behind  his  thin  old  brow  the  strategy  by-and-by  to 
make  him  terribly  immortal  ;  Bismarck — Count  Bismarck,  of 
Prussia — planning  the  future,  no  doubt,  even  in  the  midst  of 
the  Paris  festivities  where  he  showed  his  unamiable  face  with 
a  reminder  in  it  of  Ben  Butler,  but  far  enough  away  from 
being  Prince  Bismarck,  receiver  of  President  Grant  and 
Chancellor  of  the  great  German  Empire.  Hanover  a  kingdom, 
with  English  George  still  on  its  insignificant  and  unstable 
ihrone  ;  Baden-Baden  a  magnificent  gambling  hell,  with  the 
Grand  Duke,  at  his  royal  father-in-law's  behest,  only  prepar¬ 
ing  to  give  up  the  revenues  of  that  splendid  ruin  ;  the  Ger¬ 
mans  of  the  upper  Rhineland  looking  over  from  Kiel  to 
Strasbourg  and  wondering  when  ? — when  ? — when  ? 

Russia — the  Czar  in  Paris,  resting  yet  from  the  exhaustion 
of  the  Crimea,  and  slowly  getting  ready  for  the  very  differ¬ 
ent  campaign  against  the  Turk,  with  France  and  England  no 
longer  opposing — of  1S77— ’78.  England  not  yet  done  vilifying 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  whom  she  was  at  an  early  day  to  respect 
if  never  to  fully  understand  ;  as  yet  without  an  Empress  of 
India;  and  Benjamin  Disraeli  with  all  the  ambition  of  his 
race  beating  under  his  bald  brow,  but  feeling  no  flutter  of  the 


CHANGES  OF  ELEVEN  YEARS. 


9 


leaves  from  the  coronet  of  the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield  and  the 
broad  ribbon  of  the  Knight  of  the  Garter.  Italy  with  the 
Re  Galantuomo  still  blending  the  Patriot  King  and  the  arden-t 
hunter,  but  her  unity  still  afar  off  and  the  foot  of  the  Austrian 
polluting  too  many  acres  of  her  truly  sacred  soil.  Spain,  with 
the  wayward  Queen  yet  her  ruler,  the  thunders  still  unheard 
that  were  so  soon  to  make  her  a  republic  and  yet  again  a 
kingdom,  with  the  son  of  that  Queen  her  King  and  in  1878 
one  of  the  saddest  and  truest  mourners  on  the  globe.  Turkey 
cowering,  as  ever  of  late,  for  the  blow  of  her  dissolution  ;  but 
her  Sultan,  foremost  among  the  notabilities  of  Paris,  with  no 
prescience  of  the  near  day  which  should  cost  him  at  once 
crown  and  life.  Mexico  (during  the  early  months  of  that 
year,  at  least),  with  Austrian  Maximilian  holding  her  throne, 
and  the  mongrel  Republic  only  coming — coming.  The  United 
States  of  America,  with  misunderstood  and  unappreciated 
Andrew  Johnson  in  the  Presidential  chair,  and  Grant  only 
looming  in  the  distance  like  an  unshapen  shadow. 

Enough  of  these  glimpses  of  what  the  world  was  in  1867. 
So  much  said,  who  cannot  contrast  that  time  with  the  present, 
and  measure  the  changes  brought  by  eleven  fleeting  years  ? 
Alas,  as  already  said,  those  changes  have  not  been  alone  in 
the  rule  or  the  destinies  of  nations  ;  they  have  come  to  our 
households  and  reversed  our  most  cherished  associations. 

.Who  were  those  who,  in  that  late  summer  of  1867,  sat  on 
the  balcony  of  the  Hotel  Victoria  at  Interlaken,  looking  out 
over  the  valley  to  where  the  Jungfrau  heaved  up  her  great 
bulk  like  a  gigantic  white  spectre  in  the  cloudless  moonlight — 
what  time  the  Governor,  haunted  by  the  knowledge  of  the 
task  that  lay  before  him,  sat  in  his  little  room  above  them  and 
penned  those  first  words  which  have  already  been  once  be¬ 
fore  referred  to  ?  And  where  are  now  the  members  of  that 
association  so  hallowed  by  many  weeks  of  united  interest  and 
close  companionship? 

It  goes  without  saying,  that  the  Governor,  who  wrote  then, 
lingers  still.  Changed! — ay,  who  has  not  changed  in  eleven 
years?  Even  the  picture  taken  of  him,  not  many  days  later, 


10 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


at  Lucerne,  with  the  pallor  on  his  face  of  a  fearful  injury 
stupidly  encountered  in  one  of  his  mad  ascents  of  a  mountain 
rivalling  Pilatus — even  that  picture,  melancholy  enough  for 
1867,  would  be  a  flattering  and  welcome  one  if  given  as  a  re¬ 
flection  in  1S7S.  The  Governor,  truth  to  say,  is  growing  old. 
Why  should  he  not  be  so,  when  time  and  change  have  swept 
away  all  the  companions  of  that  day  ? 

The  Captain — dear  old  comrade  ol  so  many  a  wandering 
sacred  in  memory,  and  best  link  of  the  life  that  had  come  to 
be  with  the  life  that  had  been — the  Captain,  half  of  the  eleven 
years  elapsed,  ceased  from  his  journeys  upon  earth  and  went 
home  to  the  rest  of  the  good  and  the  true.  His  body  sleeps 
amid  friends  and  kindred,  but  a  little  distance  from  the  beau¬ 
tiful  home  to  which,  all  that  summer,  he  looked  back  so  long¬ 
ingly  when  night  and  weariness  came  together.  We  know, 
thinking  of  him,  that  he  realizes  the  sadly-sweet  words  of  a 
fugitive  poet,  and  dwells  amid  even  higher  and  clearer  moun¬ 
tains  than  the  great  Swiss  Alps — that 

“  He  walks  a  better  land  than  this, 

By  mortal  feet  untrod  ; 

And  he  is  summering,  high  in  bliss, 

Upon  the  hills  of  God.” 

For  the  rest,  Death  has  made  no  mark  ;  but  Change,  a  power 
only  less  deadly,  has  produced  an  effect  quite  as  material  to 
him  who  writes.  Young  Hawesby,  who  through  that  notable 
summer  supplied  the  foil  to  the  ageing  gravity  of  the  Captain, 
in  his  frank  boyishness  and  noble  promise  for  the  future,  and 
who  so  calmly  flirted  with  Lady  Eleanor  on  all  possible 
occasions, — young  Hawesby  has  taken  his  place  years  since 
in  the  society  and — who  knows? — possibly  the  dissipation 
of  his  great  native  cities,  and  forgotten,  mayhap  under  less 
beneficial  influences,  that  ever  a  Lady  Eleanor  existed.  Lady 
Eleanor  and  the  Gypsy  Oueen,  cheerful  and  valued  companions 
of  that  wondrous  tour,  have  withdrawn  themselves  into  the 
seclusion  (so  far  as  the  Govenor  is  concerned)  of  their  condi¬ 
tion  of  reserved  English  gentlewomen,  and  even  the  post 
knows  nothing,  now,  of  any  lines  of  communication.  And 


CHANGES  OF  ELEVEN  YEARS. 


11 


Anna  Maria,  last  though  not  least  of  the  group — Anna  Maria 
has  grown  richer  though  scarcely  older,  become  more  than 
half  a  Frenchwoman,  runs  over  the  Continent  nearly  every 
season,  without  the  aid  of  a  guide  or  a  courier,  and  when  the 
Governor  met  her  for  a  moment  under  the  arches  of  Notre 
Dame,  in  the  summer  of  1876,  seemed  lifted  altogether  into  a 
lighter  and  gayer  atmosphere  than  that  of  the  old  days,  and 
to  have  little  memory  of  her  first  experience  of  European 
gypsying. 

Ah,  well  ! — Tennyson  said,  long  ago,  in  the  saddest  and  most 
melodious  of  words  from  human  lips  : 

“The  old  order  changeth,  giving  place  to  new, 

And  Time  fulfils  himself  in  many  ways.” 

So  let  us  accept  the  change,  and  merely  remembering  as  an 
episode  the  vanished  Old,  deal  with  the  events  and  omens  of 
the  New. 


VIENNA  MEDAL  OF  1873. 


IX. 

OMENS  OF  THE  FRENCEI  EXPOSITION  OF  1878. 

It  is  of  no  secondary  consequence,  at  this  stage,  to  consider 
the  omens  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1S78,  before  proceeding 
to  trace  rapidly  its  history,  with  only  incidental  glimpses  of 
the  event  of  the  same  character  last  preceding.  Such  occasions 
form  milestones  in  the  progress  of  the  nations;  and  we  shall 
only  half  make  the  journey  to  advantage  without  reading  un- 
derstandingly  the  inscriptions  traced  on  them. 

So  many  International  Expositions  have  occurred  during  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  that  there  is  some  danger  of  the 
public  mind  falling  into  the  fancy  of  their  being  literally  of  no 
consequence — mere  shows,  intended  to  tickle  the  vanity  of 
some  particular  exhibitor,  or  only  commercial  speculations, 
calculated  to  aid  the  sale  of  the  goods  put  upon  view  at  them. 
Without  doubt,  both  the  ends  just  mentioned  are  accomplished 
by  and  through  those  exhibitions  ;  but  those  see  but  a  limited 
distance  into  the  progress  of  human  affairs  who  fail  to  recog¬ 
nize  in  them  something  far  beyond  this  limited  scope — some¬ 
thing  largely  instrumental  in  carrying  out  the  great  plans  and 
purposes  of  the  Creator.  If  ever  the  day  is  to  come  to  the 
earth  when  the  nations  shall  “  see,  eye  to  eye,”  as  promised  in 
the  divine  revelation,  through  no  agency  will  the  end  have 
been  more  surely  accomplished  than  the  bringing  together  of 
the  different  peoples  at  international  exhibitions,  and  exhibit¬ 
ing,  by  one  nation  to  the  others,  of  the  progress  made  in  arts, 
inventions,  and  all  the  arrangements  for  human  good.  And  if 
ever  the  day  is  to  come,  when  “  the  nations  shall  learn  war  no 
more,”  by  no  agency  will  that  result  have  been  so  forwarded,  as 
one  nation  seeing  what  the  others  have  done,  not  only  in 
peaceful  inventions,  but  in  the  very  arts  of  rendering  battles 
destructive  !  What  if  there  is  something  commercial  involved 
in  every  gathering  of  the  sort,  when  something  so  much 
higher  is  also  involved  ?  And  is  it  not  time  that  the  truth  with 


OMENS  FRENCH  EXPOSITION  OF  78. 


13 


reference  to  such  exhibitions  should  be  fully  understood,  and 
those  who  claim  the  power  of  thought  cease  to  scoff  at  them 
as  “mere  shows,”  “doing  no  one  any  good,”  and  “merely 
spending  money  and  making  a  fuss  for  nothing  !”  Surely 
Albert  the  Good,  as  the  English  have  named  him,  did  a  great 
work,  not  only  for  England  but  for  humanity,  in  forwarding  if 
not  originating  the  first  of  the  great  modern  exhibitions — that 
at  London  Hyde  Park  in  1851  ;  and  surely  his  son,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  one  day,  if  God  so  will,  to  be  King  of  England,  could 
in  no  way  better  prove  himself  worthily  his  son.  than  by  aid¬ 
ing,  as  he  has  done,  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1878,  and  person¬ 
ally  contributing  the  costly  presents  brought  home  by  himself 
from  India,  to  add  to  the  attractive  character  of  the  collection. 
Surely,  as  well,  those  who  preferred  to  celebrate  the  Centen¬ 
nial  of  American  Independence  by  a  great  American  Exposi¬ 
tion  of  arts  and  manufactures,  rather  than  to  erect  some  costly 
monument  of  stone  or  brass  for  future  ages,  judged  and  did 
well  for  the  country  in  arranging  and  managing  that  Exhibi¬ 
tion,  even  if  they  did  not  in  all  things  eclipse  all  such  gather¬ 
ings  that  had  preceded  them,  and  if  they  did  not  succeed  in 
attracting  all  or  many  of  the  crowned  heads  and  governing 
authorities  of  the  world  to  be  spectators.  Let  these  truths  be 
fearlessly  spoken  and  well  understood  ;  and  in  the  light  thus 
shed,  let  the  Exposition  of  1878  be  hastily  and  yet  intelligently 
examined. 

The  French  Exhibition  of  1867,  held  on  the  same  spot  occu¬ 
pied  by  this  of  1878,  was  probably  the  most  perfect  yet 
gathered  by  any  of  the  nations,  while  it  certainly  was  the 
most  brilliant  in  its  surroundings,  of  any  international  event 
in  history.  Napoleon  III.,  though  then  within  three  years  of 
his  loss  of  power,  was,  as  already  said,  at  the  very  height  of 
his  reputation,  and  France  was  at  her  richest  moment.  Then 
at  peace  with  each  other,  literally^  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
contributed  to  the  wondrous  collection  ;  and  the  very  name 
of  Paris,  as  the  home  and  source  of  costly  luxury,  was  a 
guarantee  that  the  contributions  of  each  would  be  of  their 
rarest.  The  crowned  heads  of  all  Europe,  and  of  the  more 


14 


PARIS  IN  73. 


cultivated  countries  ot  Asia  and  Africa,  came  to  the  great 
gathering;  and  the  popular  saying,  that  ‘‘one  ran  against 
princes  at  every  corner  and  reigning  monarchs  at  every 
second  square,”  was  only  a  trifling  exaggeration.  The  dis¬ 
tinguished  character  of  the  attendance  from  all  the  leading 
countries  of  the  world  was  only  excelled  by  its  immense 
number;  and  there  is  no  one  who  participated  in  that  indus¬ 
trial  carnival,  likely  ever  to  forget  some  of  the  singular  scenes 
growing  out  of  the  blending  of  the  nations  and  the  strange¬ 
ness  of  many  of  the  customs  of  the  one  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  other.  When  the  Turcoman  prince,  bargaining  to  buy  all 
the  girls  of  the  sewing-machine  exhibition,  with  whom  to  es¬ 
tablish  a  new  and  more  attractive  hareem,  was  met  by  the 
information  that  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  do  so,  and  would 
be  put  in  prison  if  he  attempted  to  lay  hand  on  one  of  the 
white  beauties,  his  sensations  of  angry  surprise  were  only 
second  to  those  of  the  bearded  Mussulman  who  made  his 
first  essay  at  drinking  a  glass  of  American  soda-water  and  was 
smothered  by  the  froth  in  his  nostrils.  The  American  who 
attempted  to  emulate  the  Chinese  in  drinking  tea  boiling  hot 
from  the  urn,  and  who  severely  scalded  himself  thereby,  was 
scarcely  a  match  for  one  of  the  Eastern  potentates  who  shall 
be  nameless,  and  who  left  Paris  in  dudgeon  because  he  could 
not  be  allowed  there  to  cut  off  the  head  of  a  refractory  mem¬ 
ber  of  his  suite,  without  answering  to  the  local  laws  for  the 
deed.  Through  what  restaurants  and  cafes,  crowded  with  all 
the  eatables  of  all  the  lands  on  earth,  one  ate  his  way  around 
the  great  building,  which  some  irreverent  genius  described  as 
“a  sausage  laid  around  in  links  ;”  and  through  what  other 
circles  of  drinking  places,  embodving  the  bibulatory  mixtures 
of  all  lands,  one  similarly  drank  his  way — “  the  American 
Bar”  not  the  least  or  the  worst  patronized  of  the  many 
sources  of  supply.  What  mixtures  of  all  the  languages  heard 
since  Babel,  saluted  the  ears  at  one  time  and  another,  with 
only  a  small  percentage  understood,  but  the  balance  sup¬ 
plied  by  active  fancy.  What  music  sometimes  rang  through 
the  Parc  Fran9ais,  when  the  great  band  of  the  Emperor’s 


OMENS  FRENCH  EXPOSITION  OF  ’78. 


15 


Garde  Imperiale  interpreted  the  warlike  airs  of  all  lands,  com¬ 
mencing  with  the  “Marseillaise”  and  “  Partant  pour  la  Syrze,” 
and  ending  with  a  deification  of  “Yankee  Doodle”  and  an 
adding  of  grace  to  sombre  “God  Save  the  Queen  and  how 
the  foil  to  all  this  was  supplied  by  the  endless  and  intolerable 
thrumming  and  banging  of  the  Tunisian  Ca f<s,  said  to  have 
sent  some  hundreds  to  lunatic  asylums.  And  what  a  summer 
it  was,  altogether,  the  delight  only  temporarily  dampened 
when  the  news  came  of  the  death  of  Maximilian  in  far-off 
Mexico,  throwing  the  French  court  into  mourning  and  shad¬ 
owing  everything  with  the  unread  omens  of  the  future. 

Some  of  the  special  events  of  that  Exposition  will  stand 
through  all  time  as  types  of  regal  splendor.  No  musical 
event  of  the  age  had  a  greater  crowd  or  more  significance  in 
its  awards  than  the  Grand  Concours ,  at  the  Palais  d'Industrie, 
in  the  Champs  Elvsees,  on  Sunday  the  7th  of  July,  when  the 
palms  of  merit  were  awarded  to  the  musical  combinations 
believed  to  have  most  distinguished  themselves  ;  and  no 
social  spectacle,  of  the  present  century  at  least,  could  com¬ 
pare  with  the  two  great  civic  and  imperial  fetes  of  the  weeks 
preceding  the  Ball  of  the  Municipality  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville, 
and  the  Czar’s  Ball  at  the  Tuilleries,  the  latter  given,  as  the 
name  indicates,  in  honor  of  the  presence  of  the  Emperor  of 
Russia.  In  books  of  the  time,  as  well  as  in  newspaper  cor¬ 
respondence,  these  and  other  events  of  the  season  had  full 
description,  much  of  it  almost  forgotten,  strange  to  say,  in  the 
brief  period  of  only  eleven  years,  but  worth  recalling  under  the 
incitements  of  the  present  Exposition.  It  is  of  more  import 
to  note  the  omens  connected  with  the  Exposition  of  1878,  as 
following  that  of  1867  and  the  rival  shows  of  1873  at  Vienna 
and  1876  at  Philadelphia. 

It  is  easil}r  understood  that,  whatever  the  amount  of  national 
pride  involved  in  each  exhibition,  commercial  prosperity  was 
quite  as  much  in  question  in  every  case, — the  amount  of 
money  received  by  each  nation  from  visiting  foreigners  form¬ 
ing  no  inconsiderable  item,  and  the  revenues  of  Paris  (espec¬ 
ially)  having  been  so  materially  added  to  during  the  gather- 


16 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


ing  of  1867,  that  the  beneficial  result  was  felt  for  not  less  than 
two  years  succeeding,  and  all  the  other  cities  having  been  bene¬ 
fited  in  only  less  proportion.  But  this  point  of  the  monetary 
advantage  was,  after  all,  merely  a  minor  one — the.  great  result 
was  to  be  found  in  the  free  exhibition  of  the  products  of  the 
exhibiting  nation,  rendered  possible  by  limited  distance  of 
carriage,  and  certain  to  attract  admirers  at  the  time  and  buy¬ 
ers  thereafter.  When  France  was  so  terribly  driven  to  the 
wall  in  1870-1871,  some  of  her  best  territory  taken  away  and  a 
fine  laid  upon  her  that  must  have  bankrupted  most  nations 
— one  of  the  worst  results  threatened  to  be  the  growing  of  an 
impression  in  the  general  mind  that  she  had  seen  her  best  days, 
even  in  a.  commercial  aspect,  and  the  consequent  serious  if  not 
fatal  injury  to  her  opportunities  for  supplying  the  markets  of 
the  luxury-loving  world.  This  point  seems  to  have  been  early 
recognized  by  her  republican  rulers  ;  and  no  small  share  of 
energy  was  needed  to  make  the  very  creditable  display  of 
France  at  Vienna,  so  soon  after  the  drawing  out  of  what 
seemed  her  life-blood.  Quite  as  creditable  was  the  display 
made  at  Philadelphia;  and  those  who  closely  examined  it  be¬ 
came  aware  that  France  was  neither  unable  nor  unwilling  to 
enter  the  lists  as  a  candidate  for  the  purchasing  favors  of  the 
world. 

But  all  this  was  necessarily  secondary  to  the  desire  and  the 
necessity  of  showing  her  resources,  once  more  and  with  all 
the  advantages,  at  home.  It  is  alleged,  and  probably  with 
truth,  (as  hereinafter  stated  in  particulars)  that  the  idea  of  a 
new  International  Exposition  in  the  Champs  de  Mars  was 
broached  immediately  after  the  settlement  of  the  form  of 
government;  and  if  true,  the  fact  only  proves  that  the  same 
race  were  involved  who  used  to  enjoy  the  reputation  of  im¬ 
mediately  proceeding  to  gild  the  dome  of  the  Invalides  after  each 
political  convulsion  that  brought  some  new  power  into  prom¬ 
inence.  At  all  events,  the  project  was  introduced,  discussed, 
became  a  thing  of  certainty.  Ardent  republicans  have  alleged 
that  the  cardinal  motive  for  holding  the  Exposition  of  1878 
was  the  desire  to  show  the  world  that  a  republic  possessed  all 


OMENS  FRENCH  EXPOSITION  OF  78. 


17 


the  power  claimed  by  a  kingdom  or  an  empire  ;  but  the  best 
friends  of  France  see  further  than  this,  and  understand  that 
the  national  necessity  and  the  national  desire  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  forms  of  government-^-that  France 
needed  to  display  her  undiminisked  resources ,  her  remaining 
wealth,  and  her  unconquerable  industry  and  determination,  so 
soon  after  her  great  calamity  as  to  shame  all  peoples  of  slow 
recuperation,  and  so  conclusively  that  her  ability  of  luxurious 
supply  would  never  again  be  doubted,  whatever  circumstances 
might  intervene. 

This  it  is  that  France  has  been  teaching  the  world,  during 
1878,  on  the  Champs  de  Mars  ;  and  the  lesson  has  been  by  no 
means  the  least  impressive  one  taught  during  the  past  century 
on  that  historic  field.  Whatever  her  disasters,  she  lives  and 
thrives  ;  whatever  her  losses,  she  can  and  will  rival  the  world 
in  her  productions,  useful  as  well  as  ornamental,  though  more 
signally  in  the  latter  ;  whatever  her  form  of  government,  she 
is  capable  of  arranging  a  great  display,  receiving  the  world 
that  may  be  disposed  to  visit  it,  and  reaping  the  benefits  that 
may  be  derived  from  it.  This,  we  repeat,  has  been  the  lesson 
of  the  day,  on  the  Champs  de  Mars ;  and  equally  happy  and 
profitable  is  it  for  the  exhibiting  nation  that  she  formed  the 
resolution  so  promptly  and  has  carried  it  out  so  nobly. 


PARIS  MEDAL  OF  1867. 


III. 


A  FEW  WORDS  OF  THE  EXPOSITION,  HISTORICALLY. 

Bitterly  as  France,  as  a  nation,  suffered  in  the  Franco-Ger¬ 
man  war,  and  at  its  close,  Paris,  as  a  city,  suffered  even  worse 
physically,  and  in  the  opinions  of  many  who  assumed  to  read 
the  past  and  to  divine  the  future.  Physically,  it  only  needs-to 
recall  to  mind  the  injuries  which  the  French  capital  suffered 
in  the  burning  of  the  Tuilleries,  part  of  the  Louvre,  the  Hotel 
de  V i lie,  the  Palace  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  many  other 
buildings  of  only  less  importance — the  defacement  of  many 
of  her  statues,  following  the  temporary  destruction  of  the 
great  Napoleonic  Column  in  the  Place  Vendome — the  sweeping 
away  of  many  of  the  finest  trees  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  and 
the  wide-spread  destruction  in  the  suburbs,  commencing  in 
the  city  proper  and  only  ending  at  Versailles,  with  the  demoli¬ 
tion  of  historic  St.  Cloud  disgracefully  crowning  all. 

For  a  time,  the  moral  damage  to  Paris,  of  its  losses  during 
the  melancholy  struggle,  was  even  greater  than  the  physical. 
Naturally,  in  the  half-dismantled  condition  into  which  it  fell, 
the  foot  of  the  pleasure-seeker  no  longer  sought  it,  for  some 
years,  with  the  avidity  to  which  it  had  been  accustomed,  and 
this  loss  was  only  partially  made  up  by  the  coming,  of  the 
curiosity-hunters,  eager  for  any  remains  of  the  injury  done 
during  the  conflict.  No  slight  damage  was  done  to  the  prestige 
of  the  gay  city  in  the  continuance  of  the  national  legislative 
sessions  at  Versailles — up  to  this  time  continued  ;  the  effect 
being  all  the  more  deadly  from  the  impression  to  which  the 
remaining  at  Versailles  gave  color,  that  the  populace  of  Paris 
could  no  more  be  trusted  by  the  national  lawgivers.  But  how 
much,  even  beyond  what  has  been  named,  the  city  suffered 
morally  and  in  the  world’s  speculations,  may  be  better  judged 
than  otherwise,  through  some  extracts  following  from  an 
article  in  one  of  the  leading  London  newspapers  of  the  spring 
of  1871,  in  which  the  final  dethronement  of  the  Queen  of  the 


A  FEW  WORDS  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


19 


Seine  from  its  centuried  place  as  one  of  the  world's  first  capi¬ 
tals,  was  not  only  seriously  considered  but  to  some  extent 
prophesied.  Said  that  journal,  on  the  occasion  referred  to  : 

“While  the  Parisians  are  awaiting  with  a  silent  but  trans¬ 
parent  feverishness  the  Imperial  word  which  shall  decide 
whether  the  streets  of  their  cherished  city  are  to  resound  to 
the  insulting  music  and  martial  tramp  of  their  all-powerful 
conquerors,  *  *  minds  more  tranquil  and  far-seeing  are 

asking  themselves  rvhether  a  greater  and  more  enduring 
humiliation  is  not  impending  over  the  famous  capital.  *  * 

It  is  idle  to  hope  that  many  generations  must  not  needs 
elapse  before  Paris  forgets  the  pitiless  German  shells  and  the 
compelling  German  hand.  Yet  a  long  memory  will  not  be  the 
peculiar  attribute  of  Paris  alone.  *  *  In  the  general  mind 

of  France  is  seething  the  burning  question  whether  it  owes  its 
misfortunes  more  to  the  rude  sword  of  the  victor  or  to  the 
vain-glorious  levity  and  unreasoning  boast  of  the  gay  but 
gasconading  metropolis.  ‘  C'est  Paris  qui  a  fait  notre  malheur” 
('  It  is  Paris  that  has  made  our  misfortune  '),  is  the  reproach 
addressed  to  it  on  every  side,  as  reported  by  several  travelled 
and  trustworthy  witnesses  ;  and  for  the  first  time  in  modern 
history  it  has  become  doubtful  whether,  by  the  almost  unani¬ 
mous  voice  of  its  sister  cities,  and  certainly  by  the  unbroken 
consent  of  society  and  the  rural  mind,  Paris  should  not  be 
deposed  from  its  pride  of  place,  and  its  hitherto  unchallenged 
supremacy  be  exchanged  for  a  lower  estate  and  a  less  towering 
influence.  *  *  Is  not  the  time  approaching  when  even 

Frenchmen  will  ask  aloud  if  Paris  was  not  the  head  and  front 
of  their  offending  still  more  than  of  their  glorjr,  and  demand 
that  it  should  expiate  the  injuries  it  has  inflicted  by  a  timely 
dethronement?  *  *  Thriftiness  has  always  been  a  French 

virtue,  if  we  separate  France  from  its  once  recklessly  squan¬ 
dering  capital ;  and  for  many  years  to  come  this  virtue  will  be 
doubly  guarded  by  necessity.  Paris  has  hitherto  been  the 
exception  to  the  rule  ;  but  the  provinces  will  watch  with  un¬ 
speakably  jealous  eye  to  see  that  Paris  becomes  its  chief  illus¬ 
tration.  The  mantle  of  M.  Haussmann  will  fall  on  no  man's 


3 


20 


PARIS  m  ’78. 


shoulders.  It  is  on  the  ground,  and  there  will  be  nobody  to 
pick  it  up.  *  *  Theatrical  subsidies  will  scarcely  be  toler¬ 

ated  in  a  city  saddled  with  a  personal  debt  of  two  hundred 
million  francs,  and  whose  share  of  the  national  fine  for 
unprecedented  daring  and  disaster,  will  probably  be  larger. 
*  *  The  urban  woods  and  lakes  which  have  long  been 

the  delight  of  opulence  and  frivolity  are  forever  shorn 
of  their  beauty,  unless  a  bounteous  hand,  added  to  that  of 
time,  restore  them  to  their  loveliness ;  but  time  can  do 
nothing  of  itself  to  a  ‘wilderness  of  stumps,’  and  the  in¬ 
dividual  who  proposes  a  more  expensive  mode  of  reparation 
would  speak  not  to  deaf  but  to  indignant  ears.  Many  a 
bewitching  hostess  has  found  out,  ere  this,  the  effect  of  re¬ 
trenchment  imposed  by  a  husband’s  losses  ;  and  Paris  will  ex¬ 
perience,  in  numerically  diminished  guests,  and  in  considerably 
less  of  the  world’s  attention,  what  it  is  to  ‘  possess  such  lustre 
and  then  lack.’  *  *  While  Paris  itself  will  probably  in¬ 

dulge  in  not  a  few  feeble  regrets  over  its  vanished  glories,  and 
the ,  flocks  of  pleasure  seekers  from  both  hemispheres  will 
seek  in  vain  for  another  sojourn  as  agreeable  and  congenial, 
the  solid  public  opinion  of  France  will  view  the  change  with 
severe  satisfaction.  *  *  Robbed  of  its  social  attractions, 

Paris  will  thereby  lose  much  of  its  political  importance  ;  and 
the  native  feelings  of  which  we  have  spoken  will  again  come 
in  aid  of  the  sentence.  *  *  Whether  this  virtual  diminu¬ 

tion  of  social  and  political  authority  will  be  carried  a  step 
further,  and  the  very  name  and  character  of  ‘capital’  be 
obliterated,  is  another  matter.  It  may  not  be  probable,  but  it 
is  not  impossible.  *  *  Is  it  not  possible  that  Paris  itself 

may  appear  to  most  Frenchmen  a  gigantic  mistake?  *  * 
We  feel  no  confidence,  though  we  fully  admit  the  possibility, 
that  even  an  actual  transfer’  [of  capital  to  Tours  or  Blois] 

‘  will  take  place  ;  but  we  entertain  little  doubt  that  Paris  will 
not  henceforward  be  quite  the  pleasant  place  it  has  hitherto 
been  esteemed,  and  that  never  again  will  it  be  allowed  to 
arrogate  to  itself,  as  it  has  so  frequently  done,  the  despotic 
dictum  :  L'Etat,  cest  Mai / 


A  FEW  WORDS  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


21 


Such  was  the  prophecy  which  vented  itself,  in  a  direction 
usually  well  informed,  when  the  smoke  of  the  conflict  had  not 
yet  rolled  away  ;  and  the  very  fact  that  such  a  prophecy  was 
vented,  is  proof  that  in  the  minds  of  a  large  body  of  mankind 
Paris  had  suffered  a  hurt  which  must  always  cripple  if  it  did 
not  destroy  her.  Perhaps  no  better  proof  could  be  adduced, 
in  all  history,  of  the  reliability  of  uninspired  prophecy,  one  of 
the  things  most  readily  vented  in  and  to  the  world. 

Meanwhile,  it  is  equally  evident  that  th <z  people  of  Paris,  and 
those  who  felt  lying  on  their  shoulders  the  burden  of  its  future, 
did  not  take  any  such  melancholy  view  of  its  coming  fate, 
however  they  might  writhe  under  its  wrongs  and  lament  its 
deadly  injuries.  In  their  minds,  unquestionably  and  from  the 
very  first,  what  had  been  abolished  needed  to  be  restored — 
needed  to  be  restored,  and  could  be.  Very  naturally,  a  repe¬ 
tition  of  that  which  had  been  the  culminating  glory  of  the 
previous  decade,  seemed  among  the  early  necessities  of  the 
revival ;  and  it  may  be  proper,  here,  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  no  other  people  on  the  globe  had  better  warrant,  in 
the  long  establishment  of  such  exhibitions,  and  the  circum¬ 
stances  under  which  the  very  first  arose,  to  hold  this  opinion 
of  its  importance.  For  the  first  great  French  Exhibition 
(not  an  international  one — that  idea  was  to  come  to  the  world, 
later — but  really  the  avant  Lourrier  of  its  class  in  the  world) 
was  originated  by  Francois  de  Neufchateau,  and  held  at  Paris, 
within  a  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  First  Re¬ 
public,  in  1798,  when  the  blood  of  the  aristocrats  had  not  yet 
been  all  washed  away  from  the  Place  de  Greve  and  the  Place 
de  la  Revolution.  Several  more  followed,  when  yet  no  other 
nation  had  adopted  the  idea — the  fourth  when  the  First  Em¬ 
pire  was  really  at  the  zenith  of  its  glory  and  power,  in  1806. 
The  Restoration  kept  up  the  tradition  with  three  ;  and  the 
reign  of  Louis  Philippe  also  followed  with  three.  The  Second 
Republic  held  one  in  1849,  the  largest  yet  known,  with  some 
4,000  contributors.  It  was  only  in  1855,  however,  that  the  first 
international  exhibition  was  held,  following  those  of  England, 
1851,  and  the  United  States,  1853,  and  with  the  large  number 


22 


PABIS  IN  ’78. 


of  20,000  contributors.  The  great  Exposition  of  1867  increased 
the  number  of  contributors  to  42,000,  and  the  space  covered 
to  642,000  metres,  as  against  the  88,000  square  yards  of  London 
in  1351,  and  the  119:000  square  yards  of  the  same  city  in  1S62, 
and  the  152,000  metres  of  Paris  in  1855. 

How  early  the  impression  that  this  leading  place  in  the 
world’s  great  exhibitions  needed  to  be  retained,  fixed  itself  in 
at  least  some  portion  of  the  Parisian  mind,  is  best  illustrated 
by  the  declaration  of  M.  Teisserenc  de  Bort,  Minister  of  Agri¬ 
culture  and  Commerce,  who  at  the  opening  of  the  Exhibition 
stated  that  the  idea  of  holding  it  was  conceived  and  discussed, 
the  very  day  after  the  definitive  establishment  of  the  Republic. 
This  blended  feeling  and  desire  for  performance  was  naturally 
strengthened  in  many  minds  and  created  in  many  others,  by 
the  arrangement  and  progress  of  the  Vienna  Exhibition  ;  and 
the  after-steps  involved  in  the  Parisian  repetition  were  ren¬ 
dered  much  the  more  easy  through  the  necessity  of  providing 
for  that  occasion  such  a  representation  of  French  art,  manu¬ 
factures  and  luxury  as  could  give  the  lie  to  the  prophecies  of 
the  downfall  of  the  nation  and  its  capital  city  so  freely  indulged. 
Almost  at  the  time  of  the  Austrian  Exhibition,  the  first 
movements  were  made  in  the  national  legislature,  at  Versailles, 
for  an  Exposition  in  1876,  1877  or  187S.  Very  soon  thereafter, 
the  announcement  of  the  American  Centennial  and  its 
Exhibition  at  Philadelphia,  suggested  to  the  most  ardent  that 
during  the  same  year  any  display  at  Paris  must  be  at  a  serious 
disadvantage  ;  and  a  second  thought  showed  that  1877  would 
come  too  near  the  American  display  and  at  least  to  some 
extent  cripple  the  contributions  as  well  as  the  attendance 
from  the  Western  World.  To  1878,  then,  all  the  proprieties 
pointed;  and  to  1878  the  national  energies  were  thenceforth 
bent,  with  a  determination  equally  illustrating  and  honoring 
the  national  character. 

An  early  error  into  which  many  of  the  friends  ot  the  Ex¬ 
position  fell,  remained  throughout  the  discussions  and  labors 
bringing  it  about,  and  even  to-day  can  scarcely  be  said  to  be 
eradicated.  France  was  republican — rapidly  become  so,  from 


A  FEW  WORDS  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


23 


imperialism.  A  large  proportion  of  those  who  could  make 
any  claim  to  forward  and  manage  it,  were  republicans  in  senti¬ 
ment.  They  committed  the  error  of  speaking  of  the  Exhibition 
as  one  of  the  means  of  proving  the  stability  of  the  Republic. 
To  this  arrogant  conversion  of  the  purposes  and  omens  of  the 
occasion,  to  one  purpose  which  many  must  altogether  deny  and 
nearly  all  consider  secondary,  all  of  those  differing  from  the 
republican  idea,  naturally  took  exception.  So  far,  monarchists 
and  imperialists — the  men  who  looked  for  the  coming  of  the 
Comte  de  Paris,  the  Comte  dc  Chambord  and  the  Prince  Im¬ 
perial — agreed  cordially.  France,  for  them,  was  not  to  be  made 
to  bear  a  testimony  in  the  truth  of  which  they  did  not  believe  ; 
and  if  such  was  indeed  to  be  the  issue,  they  would  wash  their 
hands  of  the  whole  affair.  Beyond  question,  not  a  man  in 
France  would  have  opposed  the  exhibition,  or  sought  in  any 
way  to  belittle  or  undervalue  it,  but  for  this  claim.  With  this 
claim,  an  opposition  was  actually  manufactured,  and  at  one  time 
threatened  to  be  formidable.  Had  the  Bonapartists  laid  the 
same  stress  upon  the  point,  that  was  really  laid  by  the  Bour¬ 
bons  and  Orleanists,  the  amount  of  embarrassment  experienced 
might  have  been  very  serious  if  not  fatal.  Fortunately,  the 
actual  opposition  soon  narrowed  itself  to  the  stronghold  of 
Bourbonism,  the  Faubourg  St.  Honore  ;  and  so  narrowed,  and 
deprived  of  the  aid  of  the  Imperialists,  who  were  either  wiser 
or  more  prudent,  the  obstructing  danger  could  be  despised  by 
those  having  the  great  design  in  charge. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  follow  the  separate  steps  by  which 
the  enterprise,  once  decided  upon  as  a  thing  to  be  done,  was 
carried  out.  With  the  experience  of  the  past,  there  was  no 
difficulty  in  deciding  as  to  the  place  —  the  Champs  de  Mars, 
again  and  inevitably.  For  plans  of  the  necessary  buildings, 
the  usual  controversy  was  inevitable  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
the  advantages  were  increased  and  the  difficulties  diminished, 
through  the  number  of  buildings  of  the  same  character  already 
erected  by  the  different  nations,  and  the  experiences  encoun¬ 
tered  by  one  and  another.  Without  the  world  having  known 
much  of  him  in  advance,  a  very  capable  “organizer”  of  the 


24 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Exposition  came  to  the  front,  in  M.  Ivrantz,  despite  his  sus¬ 
piciously  German  name.  Early  in  1877,  the  first  work  took 
place  on  the  old  public  ground  that  lay  in  dust  and  scattered 
with  ruins  and  debris  for  a  long  time  after  1867.  As  for  all 
other  purposes,  that  wonderful  France  could  supply  funds  for 
the  framework  of  her  new  apotheosis,  and  did  so,  with  far 
less  tardiness  than  many  countries  have  shown,  deficient  in 
excuses  for  any  hindrance  in  appropriations.  When  the 
Christmas  frosts  of  1877-8  fell  on  the  Champs  de  Mars,  the  great 
building  to  cover  it,  and  the  Trocadero  Palace,  across  the 
Seine,  at  the  Quai  de  Billy,  were  well  along  toward  completion, 
in  externals.  And  when  the  first  of  May,  1878,  arrived, 
with  the  inevitable  opening,  Paris,  and  France,  were  at  least 
able  to  say  that  no  more  was  left  undone  than  the  habit  of 
all  nations  under  such  circumstances  seems  to  render  proper 
if  not  indeed  de  rigeur. 


IV. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION,  AND  ITS 
PALACES. 

The  opening  of  the  Exposition  of  1867,  as  some  of  the  read¬ 
ers  of  the  description  of  that  event  may  remember,  was  written, 
in  the  unavoidable  absence  of  the  Governor,  by  “  Our  Boy 
Tommy,”  a  youngster  of  the  Empire  City,  then  being  educated 
at  Paris.  He  it  was  who  discovered  a  circumstance  not  gen¬ 
erally  known  to  the  world  until  he  made  it  public,  and  discred¬ 
ited  by  many  even  after  the  publication  —  the  interview 
between  the  Emperor  and  Baron  Haussmann,  on  the  mornin 
of  the  great  event,  with  their  speculations  on  the  past  an 
current  state  of  the  weather,  and  the  request  of  the  Emperor 
that  Haussmann  would  bring  back  Eugenie’s  umbrella,  which 
he  had  borrowed.  He  it  was  who,  in  describing  the  events 
and  notabilities  of  the  day,  so  characterized  them  as  probably 
the  leading  personages  of  a  great  event  had  never  before  been 
described  since  journalism  first  became  an  occupation.  And 
he  it  was  to  whom  the  citation  was  sent,  somewhat  late  in 
April,  to  cut  himself  loose  from  any  and  all  entanglements 
that  might  arise  to  prevent,  take  his  way  to  the  gay  city  in 
time  for  the  opening  ceremonies,  and  make  such  report 
thereon  as  would  fully  sustain  his  past  reputation  and  duly 
delight  an  expectant  world. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  “Our  Boy  Tommy  ”  of  the  past 
existed  no  longer,  as  so  many  things  and  persons  no  longer 
existed,  once  marked  in  their  influence  on  humanity.  The 
youngster  of  seventeen  was  gone,  to  return  no  more  ;  Dr. 
Thomas  Benningway,  an  American  physician  of  rising  emi¬ 
nence,  located  at  Stuttgart,  Wurtemberg,  having  his  clientelle 
among  the  American  colony  there  resident,  supplied  the  only 
reminder  of  the  son  of  the  Banker,  and  the  widely-miscella- 
neous  pupil  of  1867.  It  was  to  him  that  the  summons  went ;  and 
it  was  from  him,  a  few  days  before  the  opening,  that  the  ac- 


CL  Oq 


26 


PARIS  IX  ’78. 


ceptance  of  the  commission  came,  with  certain  reminders  and 
reservations  rendered  inevitable  by  the  lapse  of  eleven  years. 

“  I  will  do  your  bidding,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  no  little  of  my 
material  interests  and  no  small  wrench  to  my  personal  feelings,” 
he  wrote,  “for  I  do  not  know  that  any  one  ever  likes  to  put 
himself  in  comparison  with  what  he  has  been  at  another  time  ; 
and  I  very  much  doubt  whether  I  can  summon  back  any  of  the 
old  vivacity  that  pleased  some  of  my  readers  so  well,  and  that 
(so  they  said)  the  Emperor  laughed  over  and  at  until  he 
came  nearer  to  crying  than  he  had  done  in  a  score  of  years. 
Besides — I  do  not  like  Paris,  nowadays.  It  is  not  the  Paris 
of  the  old  time,  whether  better  or  worse.  So  much  is  gone 
that  was ;  so  much  exists  that  was  not,  and  that,  in  the  ripe 
judgment  of  twenty-eight  (my  present  measurement  of  life¬ 
time)  never  should  have  been.  The  Empire  as  it  was,  was 
better  to  me  than  the  Republic  that  is — as  I  might  more 
freely  demonstrate  if  I  lived  under  the  tri-color  running  the 
other  way,  instead  of  the  horizontal  bars  of  the  German 
land.  No — I  do  not  like  Paris  as  it  is,  principally  because  I 
once  liked  it  too  well  as  it  was.  Besides,  once  more — the 
dear  old  place  is  changed  in  persons  even  more  than  in  itself. 
I  might  find,  I  suppose,  a  good  many  of  those  who  saw  the 
other  Exhibition  with  me,  if  I  tried;  but  I  could  not  find  any 
one  of  three  who  were  the  most  to  me  then  in  such  very 
different  ways.  The  good  old  Abbe  ! — I  know  that  you  saw 
him,  more  than  once,  during  the  1867  summer  ;  and  I  especially 
remember  that  you  drew  a  not  bad  picture  of  him  as  you  saw 
him  at  Mabille,  in — what  was  the  name  of  your  confounded 
novel?  —  ‘  Only  a  Cucumber,’  c  r  something  of  the  sort.  Ah, 
he  was  a  much  better  man  than  even  I  knew,  and  I  knew  that 
he  was  as  good  as  they  made  them.  lie  died  of  fever  and 
privation,  the  first  contracted  and  the  latter  endured,  nursing 
the  sick  through  that  terrible  siege  in  the  winter  of  1870-71  ; 
and  he  went  home  to  where  I  should  like  to  follow  him  when  I 
go.  Count  Bob — you  met  him,  too,  more  than  once  that  sum¬ 
mer,!  am  sure — Count  Bob  had  his  head  torn  off  by  a  fragment 
of  shell,  in  one  of  the  sallies  made  by  the  despairing  Parisians, 


THE  EXPOSITION. ,  AND  ITS  PALACES. 


27 


after  I  got  away,  in  January, — and  died  as  became  a  true 
descendant  of  Count  Robert  of  Paris,  of  the  Crusades,  which 
the  poor,  good  fellow  always  boasted  himself  to  be,  and  which 
I  have  no  doubt  that  he  was.  And  Fred-  Raikes,  the  third  of 
the  three  for  whom  I  really  cared  in  that  time  that  seems  so 
long  ago — Fred,  is  not  dead  that  I  know  of.  I  almost  wish 
that  he  was:  better  that  than  the  dissipated  man-about-town 
that  they  tell  me  he  has  been,  in  London,  for  half  a  dozen 
years. 

“  Ah,  well.  You  see  that  they  are  gone,  as  I  have  no  doubt 
that  your  companions  of  that  summer  are  gone  too,  if  you 
would  make  a  clean  breast  of  it.”  [The  Governor  has  done 
so,  Tommy,  at  the  very  beginning  of  this  volume.]  In  spite 
of  all  this,  I  must  go  back  to  Paris,  and  try  to  recall  a 
little  of  the  feeling  of  the  scribbler,  which  I  have  not  had 
now  for  years.  I  must  try,  and  I  will.  Do  not  be  surprised, 
however,  if  you  think  that  your  grandfather  is  writing,  and 
miss  what  you  were  pleased  to  call  ‘vivacity’  and  ‘freedom’  in 
that  account,  on  which  I  really  prided  myself  more  than  3rou 
knew.  If  you  miss  all  that,  this  time,  and  fail  to  find  half  so 
many  personalities  and  personal  descriptions  as  I  was  sure  to 
give  you  when  I  lived  over  in  the  Qnartier  Latin,  console 
yourself  that  you  will  also  miss  most  of  what  I  then  regarded 
as  merely  jolly  writing,  but  what  was  really  slang  of  the  fullest 
body  and  highest  proof.” 

This  was  part  of  the  somewhat  long  epistle  marking  the 
acceptance  of  the  proposition.  By  a  mail,  coming  some  two 
weeks  after  the  opening,  came  the  redemption  of  his  promise, 
strangely  marking  the  change  that  had  fallen  on  the  wild  boy 
of  the  Empire,  and  yet  with  enough  occasional  flashes  of  the 
old  spirit  to  assure  the  identity  of  the  writer,  had  that  been 
otherwise  doubtful. 

“Well,  the  Exposition  of  1878  is  open,  and  I  was  ‘there  to 
see.'  I  am  glad  to  have  seen  the  opening,  because  I  am  fond 
of  seeing  the  beginnings  of  things  when  I  am  to  see  them  at 
all ;  and  yet  I  am  sorry  to  have  seen  it,  because  for  some  reason 
the  glory  of  all  such  things  seems  to  have  departed,  and  I 


28 


PARIS  IN  78. 


can  neither  grow  so  merry  nor  so  romantic  over  them  as  I 
could  do  only  eleven  years  ago. 

“  I  reached  Paris  only  twenty-four  hours  in  advance  of  the 
opening,  and  spent  my  day  (i)  in  looking  about  the  old  city, 
where  I  had  not  been  for  several  months;  and  (2)  in  using  my 
ticket  privilege  and  making  myself  familiar  a  little  with  the 
thing  to  be  opened.  In  the  first  task  I  may  sa}r,  at  once,  that 
I  was  agreeably  disappointed.  Paris  was  never  lovelier  than 
it  is  to-day.  I  need  not  tell  you,  who  have  seen  it  so  many 
times  since  the  Kalmuck-Tartar-Germanic  raid,  that,  with  the 
exceptions  of  a  very  few  points,  the  marks  of  the  conflict  have 
all  disappeared,  and  the  stranger  would  need  to  have  the  scars 
pointed  out  to  him  before  discovering  that  there  had  been 
any  wounds.  Old  stagers — (think  of  me,  at  twenty-eight,  an 
‘  old  stager  !’) — old  stagers  and  habitue's  miss,  of  course,  the 
Tuilleries  and  the  Hotel  de  Ville  ;  that  is  literally  and  abso¬ 
lutely  all.  As  for  the  rest,  the  discontinuance  of  Baron  Hauss- 
raann’s  little  operations  has  been  rather  a  benefit  than  a 
disadvantage,  the  appearance  of  the  city  being  ‘finished’ 
having  come  back  to  some  extent  since  he  laid  down  whatever 
instrument  he  used  in  demolishing,  and  the  clouds  of  dust  and 
piles  of  brick  having  both  disappeared  very  pleasantly. 
And  indeed,  with  not  much  good  will  toward  the  present 
rulers  of  city  or  country,  I  must  say  that  they  have  managed 
to  place  everything  in  very  fair  order,  and  to  keep  that  order 
unbroken.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  ever  seen  Paris  more 
attractive  as  a  residence,  or  looking  more  like  the  blending  of 
Europe  and  the  Orient  which  best  fills  the  imagination,  than 
as  lying  under  the  sun  of  May,  this  day  of  1878.  Some  flowers 
are  perennial;  so,  I  think,  is  the  city  that  began  as  Lutetia, 
occupying  merely  that  little  lie  de  la  Cite,  and  that  through 
enough  vicissitudes  to  have  driven  any  other  place  on  the 
globe  out  of  existence,  has  gone  on  growing,  yes,  and  beauti¬ 
fying,  year  after  year  and  century  after  centur)c 

“  I  say,  the  sun  of  this  day  ;  I  do  not  say  the  sun  of  the  day 
before  the  opening,  for  there  was  none  ;  and  there  was  nothing 
of  the  glamour  of  sunshine  to  make  it  seem  fairer  to  me  than 


THE  EXPOSITION,  AND  ITS  PALACES. 


29 


it  was.  The  weather  had  been  unstable  and  more  than  a  trifle 
boisterous,  we  learned,  over  all  Central  Europe,  for  the  three 
days  preceding.  It  rained  when  I  entered  Paris  and  emerged 
from  my  schlaf-wagen,  on  the  morning  of  the  last  day  of  April. 
Most  of  that  day  my  umbrella  was  in  occasional  requisition  ; 
and  at  night  the  very  floodgates  of  heaven  seemed  opened, 
while  thunder  heavy  enough  boomed  over  the  city  to  suggest 
that  the  fates  intended  to  keep  the  memory  of  all  the  cannon¬ 
ades  in  which  it  had  ever  taken  part,  before  the  general  mind  by 
way  of  instruction  and  edification.  The  torrents  of  rain  that 
swept  the  streets  were  exceptional  in  their  force  and  contin¬ 
uance.  They  did  some  damage,  as  I  understood,  to  the  shrub¬ 
bery  in  the  grounds  of  the  Exhibition  ;  and  they  certainly 
must  have  made  it  somewhat  difficult  working  for  the  poor 
fellows  who  labored  on  all  through  the  night,  to  make  as 
nearly  ready  as  possible  what  was  by  no  means  ready  and  by  no 
means  quite  fitted  for  exhibiting  to  the  eyes  of  the  public. 
Only  the  violence  of  the  rain  gave  an)'  hope  that  it  would 
have  an  early  end,  and  that  the  ceremonies  of  the  opening,  if 
any  there  were  to  be,  could  be  carried  on  otherwise  than  in 
boats  and  under  waterproof  canopies.  A  part  of  this,  as  you 
will  see,  was  carried  out  in  the  event,  and  the  remainder  was 
a  humbug,  as  usual. 

“Before  describing  the  'opening,’  it  may  be  well  to  under¬ 
stand  what  there  was  to  open.  And  perhaps  you  can  come 
nearer  to  that  knowledge  through  comparison  than  in  any 
other  mode. 

“  No  one  should  know  better  than  yourself,  the  bounds  of 
the  Exposition  of  1867.  If  report  of  that  time  spoke  the  truth, 
you  wandered  around  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  that  year, 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  so  many  of  those  of  the  night  as 
did  not  force  the  sergens  de  ville  to  arrest  you  oftencr  than  the 
national  comities  allowed.  Well,  on  the  assumption  that 
you  remember  the  Old,  as  well  as  wish  to  know  the  bearings 
of  the  New,  let  me  proceed  to  make  the  comparison. 

“  The  whole  of  the  Champs  de  Mars — ‘  only  that  and  nothing 
more’ — you  will  remember  was  occupied  in  1867.  But  only  a 


30 


PARIS  1Y  ’78. 


small  part  of  it,  comparatively,  was  occupied  by  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  Palace,  which  some  person  ot  porcine  tendencies  (was  it 
yourself?)  compared  to  a  number  of  links  of  sausage,  each 
differing  in  length  from  the  other,  laid  around  in  a  series  of 
ovals.  A  much  better  simile,  to  my  mind,  would  have  been 
that  of  a  series  of  oblong  boxes,  ‘  nested  ’  as  they  say,  from 
the  smallest  inside  to  the  largest  outside.  Perhaps  not  more 
than  one-sixth  to  one-eighth  of  the  whole  ground  was  covered 
by  the  Palace,  the  length  being  from  the  Quai  d’Orsav  and 
the  Seine,  to  the  Avenue  de  la  Mothe  Piquet  and  the  Military 
School,  while  the  flatter  sides  faced  the  Avenue  Suffren  on  the 
north,  and  the  Avenue  de  la  Bourdonnaye  on  the  south.  The 
western  end  of  the  Champs,  behind  the  Palace,  formed  the 
splendid  Parc  Fran9ais;  and  in  the  grounds  left  unoccupied,  in 
all  directions,  but  principally  on  the  north  and  south,  were 
grouped  and  scattered  the  buildings  of  the  different  nations, 
forming  so  picturesque  a  feature  in  the  exhibition. 

“  For  the  present  occasion  all  this  was  changed.  The  whole 
of  the  Champs  de  Mars,  from  the  Quai  d’Orsay  to  the  Avenue 
de  la  Mothe  Piquet,  and  from  the  Avenue  Suffren  to  the  Ave¬ 
nue  de  la  Bourdonnaye,  was  taken  up  at  once,  many  of  the 
annexes  holding  the  machinery  and  other  important  exhibits, 
being  at  the  extremes  fronting  on  Bourdonnaye  and  Suffren. 
Something  like  one-half  of  the  whole  space  of  the  Champs  was 
taken  up  by  the  Main  Palace,  (of  course  principally  of  glass 
and  iron,  like  all  the  rest),  while  galleries  on  the  four  sides  (the 
two  larger  ones,  at  the  ends,  called  the  Gallerie  de  Jena  and 
the  Gallerie  de  1’Ecole  Militaire)  separated  the  Main  Palace 
from  ranges  of  machinery  halls  and  annexes.  Thus,  no  orna¬ 
mental  grounds  were  left  behind  the  Palace,  toward  the  Mili¬ 
tary  School,  and  all  of  them,  on  that  side  the  Seine,  were  thrown 
in  front  of  it  and  towards  the  river.  Meanwhile,  the  Pont  de 
Jena,  in  1867  at  its  usual  width,  had  for  this  occasion  been  wid¬ 
ened  to  quite  twice  that  width,  by  an  iron  flooring,  railed,  tem¬ 
porarily  thrown  over  it,  forming  one  of  the  most  capacious 
and  delightful  promenades  in  the  world,  and  a  part  of  the  Ex¬ 
hibition  grounds,  included  in  them  and  only  to  be  entered  upon 


THE  EXPOSITION ,  AND  ITS  PALACES 


31 


by  those  who  had  entered  those  grounds  from  one  or  other 
direction.  Beyond  the  bridge,  the  rise,  which  in  3867,  stood 
nearly  naked,  and  then  called  the  Hill  of  the  Trocadero,  had 
been  thrown  into  use  in  the  most  splendid  manner,  really  form¬ 
ing  a  part  of  the  whole  scarcely  less  important  than  that  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Seine.  For  a  distance  along  the  river, 
corresponding  to, the  width  of  the  Champs  de  Mars  on  the  op¬ 
posite  side,  the  rising  height  had  been  laid  out  in  ornamental 
grounds  and  sites  for  the  buildings  of  different  nations,  form¬ 
ing,  with  those  beyond  the  river,  a  continuous  collection  only 
broken  by  the  bridge.  Still  rising  from  the  river,  on  the 
Trocadero  side,  and  at  the  top  of  the  height,  came  the  splendid 
Trocadero  Palace,  of  stone,  intended  as  a  permanence  in  erec¬ 
tion  (like  your  Memorial  Hall  at  Philadelphia,)  and  certainly 
worthy  ot  that  preservation,  alike  from  its  commanding  loca¬ 
tion,  wTith  the  matchless  view  possible  from  it,  and  from  its  size 
and  impressive  oddity  as  a  building.  If  I  have  succeeded  in 
conveying  any  idea  of  space  by  all  this,  you  will  see,  now, 
that  the  area  covered  by  the  Exhibition  was  an  immense 
parallelogram,  about  three  times  as  long  as  wide,  taking  in  the 
whole  Champs  de  Mars,  crossing  the  river  in  a  line  with  its  two 
long  sides,  and  enclosing  the  Trocadero  Height  to  the  Rue 
Franklin  and  the  Avenue  de  Trocadero,  forming  its  eastern  or 
northeastern  boundary.  Not  covering  so  much  space,  by  a 
large  difference,  as  that  occupied  by  the  Centennial  Grounds 
at  Philadelphia  (if  I  am  rightly  instructed  by  the  maps  and 
pictures  sent  over);  not  even  so  large  as  the  grounds  on  the 
Prater  at  Vienna,  as  I  myself  saw  them  in  1873  ;  and  yet,  pro¬ 
bably,  with  the  advantages  of  location,  the  view  afforded,  and 
the  historical  memorials  within  sight  and  memory,  the  most 
perfect,  and  the  most  strikingly  arranged,  of  any  that  the 
world  has  yet  seen  in  its  great  industrial  and  artistic  gather- 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. — {Continued^) 

“  If  1  had  spent,  all  the  late  years  of  my  life  in  studying  the 
anatomy  of  houses  instead  of  that  of  men  (there  ! — sink  the 
doctor,  old  man  ! — what  am  I  saying  ?) — in  that  case  I  might 
be  better  able  to  describe  the  two  palaces — the  Exposition 
and  the  Trocadero — than  I  can  hope  to  do  under  existing 
circumstances.  But  I  must  try,  if  not  to  describe  at  least  to 
indicate. 

“  Every  attempt  at  an  industrial  exhibition  building,  I  sup¬ 
pose,  is  an  attempt,  quite  as  much,  at  excelling  all  others 
previously  constructed,  and  avoiding  the  errors  of  all  prede¬ 
cessors.  I  know  that  the  Palace  of  1867,  for  which  they  said 
that  dumpy  Prince  Napoleon  was  more  than  half  responsible, 
aimed  at  giving  the  go-by  to  the  English  Palace  at  Sydenham, 
in  convenience  if  not  in  size  and  outer  effect.  And  I  suppose 
that,  in  convenience,  it  really  was  a  wonderful  success,  while  in 
outside  appearance  one  of  the  most  insignificant  things  ever 
done  for  a  great  purpose.  It  certainly  enraptured  no  one,  with¬ 
out.  It  certainly  supplied  wonderful  opportunities,  with  its  rings 
and  circles,  for  showing  the  different  products  of  the  same 
country  in  one  direction,  and  the  similar  products  of  all  coun¬ 
tries  in  another  ;  and  so  far  it  may  really  have  been  one  of  the 
best  results  of  the  century.  The  Vienna  building  went  back 
from  the  oval  to  the  square,  and  so  partially  lost  those 
opportunities  for  comparison  ;  but  it  added  some  grandeurs, 
especially  in  the  centre  space,  under  the  dome,  to  which  the 
French  building  could  not  pretend.  The  American,  at  Phila¬ 
delphia  (if  the  pictures  convey  the  proper  idea,  again)  seems 
to  have  followed  the  Vienna  one  in  return  to  the  square 
instead  of  the  circular,  but  retained  the  central  idea  of  a  grand 
coup  d'ceil ,  setting  the  dividing  lines  in  minor  and  different 
buildings.  But  the  Main  French  Exposition  Palace  of  this 
year,  seems  to  have  taken  much  from  both  the  Vienna  and 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION . 


33 


the  Philadelphia  buildings,  and  yet  gone  very  far  from  either 
and  from  any  other  yet  attempted,  It  has  preserved  the 
parallel  lines  of  the  1867  building,  straight  instead  of  curved  ; 
and  (the  truth  may  as  well  be  told  first  as  last)  its  plan  has 
totally  ignored  anything  like  a  comprehensive  central  view, 
which  may  prove  to  be  an  advantage  in  detail  but  is  certainly 
a  fatal  error  in  the  production  of  any  single  effect. 

“  Seen  from  without,  the  Palace  is  by  no  means  the  equal, 
in  impressiveness,  of  that  at  Vienna  or  that  at  Philadelphia, 
while  far  excelling  its  predecessor  on  the  Champs  de  Mars, 
about  which  there  was  really  nothing  to  remember  pleasantly 
except  the  row  of  little  flags  always  fluttering  all  around  what 
would  have  been  the  eaves,  if  there  had  been  any  roof.  As  I 
have  already  said,  my  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  buildings, 
or  in  other  words,  of  the  styles  of  architecture,  is  terribly 
defective— though  that  by  the  way  is  not  of  much  consequence 
in  an  age  when  every  style  or  none  is  employed  in  the  same 
building.  So  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  Palace  proper  is  about 
twice  as  long  as  wide,  a  square  box  instead  of  the  oval  butter- 
bowl  of  1867,  and  low  like  that.  It  has  four  raised  towers  at 
the  four  corners,  square,  with  rounded  roofs  and  glass  round- 
headed  sides,  for  which  I  know  (again)  no  style  of  architec¬ 
ture  to  supply  a  name,  and  yet  which  you  may  imagine,  if  you 
can  recall  the  central  tower  of  the  Etablissement  at  La  Plage, 
Dieppe.  A  fifth  tower,  of  the  same  shape  and  construction, 
though  apparently  lower,  is  in  the  middle  of  the  end  fronting 
the  Seine,  and  forms  the  entrance.  I  do  not  know  whether 
General  Pleasanton  had  anything  to  do  with  the  construction  ; 
but  the  glass  of  all  the  towers,  as  indeed,  of  all  the  sides  of 
the  building,  seems  blue  enough  to  indicate  that  the  builders 
constructed  for  health  quite  as  much  as  appearance,  and  put 
in  ‘  blue  glass’  for  that  hygienic  purpose.  All  the  sides  are 
finished,  of  course,  with  finials,  (as  I  think  they  call  them,) 
forming  short  flag-staffs,  and  allowing  the  fluttering  and  wav¬ 
ing  of  three  or  four  times  as  many  pieces  of  bunting  as  the 
1867  building  ever  exhibited. 

“  One  more  feature  of  consequence,  and  I  have  done  with 


34 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


the  Main  Exposition  Palace  as  it  appeared  on  the  opening- 
da)%  on  the  outside.  In  the  fa9ace  of  the  Palace,  and  seen 
from  the  Seine—  really  on  what  would  be  called  the  piazza  of 
that  end,  in  an  ordinary  house — a  row  of  colossal  figures 
stands,  under  appropriate  flags  floating  above,  typifying  the 
different  nations  exhibiting,  and  doing  so  very  pleasantly 
in  the  main.  I  do  not  know  the  name  of  the  artist  who 
designed  them,  or  if  there  may  have  been  several,  but  I  think 
that  he  has  ‘deserved  well  of  the  country,’ as  they  used  to 
say  in  the  days  following  1793,  of  some  commander  who  had 
not  yet  made  the  blunder  for  which  they  chopped  off  his  head. 
If  I  remember  correctly,  there  are  about  twenty  of  these 
national  statues,  in  plaster  or  some  cognate  material,  of 
course.  Of  the  American  one,  part  of  the  idea,  at  least,  is 
taken  from  the  colossal  Freedom  of  Crawford,  on  the  top  of 
the  Capilol  at  Washington — at  least  I  so  remember  something 
between  them.  The  America  in  the  fagade  is  crowned  with 
leaves  and  a  star  on  the  forehead  ;  the  face  is  severely  Greek 
in  outline,  and  very  stern  ;  and  one  of  the  hands  (really  I 
forget  which),  holds  a  flagstaff,  from  which  the  Star  Spangled 
Banner  droops  over  the  shoulders  (saving  some  labor  in  that 
part  of  the  figure? — what  do  you  think?)  The  other  hand 
rests  on  the  Roman  fasces,  and  holds  a  scroll  with  the  magic 
word  which  everybody  thinks  that  he  understands  and 
nobody  does — ‘Constitution.’  There  is  an  eagle  at  the  feet, 
looking  up  at  the  severe  face,  with,  as  I  think,  a  little  terror 
expressed  in  the  beak,  lest  the  fasces,  with  the  axe,  may 
directly  be  employed  in  bird-taming.  Taken  all  in  all,  the 
America  is  rather  good,  I  fancy,  though  of  course  every  two¬ 
penny  sculptor  who  sees  it  imagines  that  he  could  have  pro¬ 
duced  a  better.  Britain,  necessarily,  has  a  Britannia,  and  no 
more  need  be  said.  France  is  intensely  Republican,  and  again 
no  more  need  be  said.  Germany  is  conspicuous  by  absence, 
and  very  properly  so,  as  she  has  no  exhibit  within,  and  the 
Emperor’s  pictures  came  too  late  to  allow  of  a  recognition 
here.  Italy  has  that  celebrated  and  most  maternal  wolf  of 
Romulus  ;  Russia  manifests  the  coldness  of  her  climate  very 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


35 


effectively;  Greece  shows  her  broken  sculptures;  Belgium 
parades  the  lion  that  is  shared  by  so  many  nations  ;  Switzer¬ 
land  (if  I  remember  rightly,  again),  waves  the  mighty  wings  of 
her  lammergeyer ;  Japan  shows  her  embroidery  and  her 
pottery  ;  Egypt  makes  boast  of  the  Suez  Canal,  in  a  diagram  ; 
and  here  my  recollection,  unassisted  by  any  notes,  and  all  the 
while  a  little  misty,  fails  altogether,  and  I  can  only  say,  again, 
grouping  the  whole  together,  that  the  array  is  a  pleasing  one, 
showing  a  happy  conception  in  the  beginning,  and  carrying 
out  worthy  of  much  consideration, 

“Crossing  the  river  to  the  alternate  Palace,  that  of  the 
Trocadero,  I  fear,  spite  of  its  solidity,  that  I  may  be  able  to 
convey  only  a  more  shadowy  idea  than  that  of  the  Main  Palace, 
from  the  fact  that  this  is  much  more  unlike  anything  ever  be¬ 
fore  constructed.  This  Trocadero  Palace,  intended  for  per¬ 
manence,  stands  at  the  apex  of  the  eminence,  fronting  squarely 
on  the  Place  du  Roi  de  Rome,  north-and-eastward,  and  the 
swell  which  makes  it  a  half  circle  extending  out  on  the  other 
side,  into  the  grounds  and  toward  the  Seine  and  the  Main 
Palace.  The  lower  story,  which  is  colonnaded  after  the  Vene¬ 
tian  manner,  extends  far  beyond  the  upper,  the  retreat  of  the 
latter  forming  the  most  magnificent  of  balconies  above  the 
first.  At  the  top  of  the  second  story  rises  a  noble  dome  ;  and 
a  grand  Moorish  shaft-tower,  half-minaret,  rises  at  each  side  at 
the  junction  of  the  square  and  the  circle,  visible  over  al] 
western  Paris  and  down  the  Seine,  and  unquestionably  affording 
one  of  the  finest  views  in  the  world  from  the  top  of  either 
From  the  main  building  (here  with  a  bit  of  a  reminder  of  the 
effect  of  St.  Peter’s,  at  Rome)  two  immense  curved  wings,  of 
the  height  of  the  first  story,  sweep  away  toward  the  edge  of 
the  grounds  (opposite  the  boundaries  of  the  Champs  de  Mars) 
and  toward  the  Seine,  with  three  round-topped  towers  on 
either  wing,  and  the  one  at  either  end  large  enough  to  convey 
the  same  idea  of  solidity  as  that  of  the  central  building.  It  is 
from  the  lower  part  of  the  main  building  that  the  great  Cas¬ 
cade  leaps  downward  to  the  river,  with  successive  after-leaps; 
and  it  is  in  front  of  the  Trocadero  Palace  that  the  grand  Aqua- 


4 


PARIS  IAf  78. 


l'ium  is  to  be  found,  and  that  the  most  effective  of  the  orna¬ 
mental  grounds  of  the  exhibition  are  located.  The  Trocadero 
Palace,  with  one  of  the  grandest  Concert  Halls  in  the  world 
within  the  central  building,  with  a  wilderness  of  show-rooms, 
meeting  rooms,  committee  rooms  and  colonnades,  is  really 
among  the  most  original  pieces  of  construction  of  the  century  ; 
and  if  Paris  (which  means  France)  derived  no  other  benefit 
from  the  Exposition  than  this  noble  permanent  building,  all 
the  outlay  and  all  the  anxiety  of  the  year  would  be  eventually 
repaid. 

“All  this,  and  I  have  not  yet  told  you  of  the  opening,  so 
long  promised.  To  the  event,  then,  with  what  intelligence  I 
may,  and  with  a  brevity  doing  something  to  relieve  a  possible 
dullness. 

“The  heavy  rain  of  the  last  night  of  April  abated  before 
the  morning  of  the  first  of  May,  but  it  did  not  cease 
altogether.  We  rose  to  find  the  sky  heavy  and  lowering, 
with  alternations  of  quick  bursting  rain.  But  such  of  us  as 
cared  to  see,  and  went  out  for  that  purpose,  found  more  flags 
afloat,  however  damply  and  drippingly,  than  have  ever  been 
seen  in  the  streets  of  Paris  since  what  they  call  the  ‘  Defini¬ 
tive  Consolidation  (whatever  that  may  mean)  of  the  Republic/ 
Naturally,  they  comprised  the  colors  of  ail  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  except  the  German  ;  and  even  the  horizontal  three 
bars  had  a  few  exemplifications,  in  honor,  I  suppose,  of  the 
Emperor’s  sending  his  pictures.  How  much  the  French 
depend  upon  us  (not  a  word  now  about  Wurtemburg  ! — I  am 
of  New  York,  New  Yorky  !) — how  much,  I  say,  they  depend 
upon  us  of  the  New  World,  to  make  anything  ‘go,’  was  pretty 
conclusively  shown  by  the  number  of  starred-and-striped  bits 
of  bunting  that  waved  from  hotels,  banking-houses,  steamship 
offices,  and  so  many  other  places,  that  we  seemed  to  have 
quite  the  best  of  it  as  first  national  aid-de-camp  to  the  nation 
in  command — in  honor,  possibly,  of  our  boasting  a  republic  of 
our  own,  but  a  little  more,  I  fancy,  in  the  other  honor  of  our 
being  the  very  best  customers  living,  not  only  to  the  hotels 
of  Ireland  and  Switzerland,  but  to  the  dietary  and  commercial 
offerings  of  the  Queen  of  the  Seine. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


37 


“Meanwhile  the  cannon  joined  with  the  bunting  in  making 
a  gala  day — though  I  think  that  if  I  was  a  Parisian,  and 
especially  a  Parisian  in  authority,  after  the  amount  of  that 
manufactured  thunder  heard  during  the  winter  of  1870-71, 
and  the  painfully  inefficient  defence  that  the  city  made  of  it 
altogether,  I  should  never  wish  to  hear  the  explosion  of 
another  cannon-charge,  and  would  never  officially  let  off 
another  gun,  the  very  sound  of  which  would  suggest  so  much 
of  sorrow  and  suffering.  They  banged  away,  however,  from 
all  the  fortifications,  and  I  have  no  doubt  from  every  place 
where  there  was  a  cannon  mounted,  around  the  whole  city ; 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  account  of  what  happened  during  the 
day  must  be  taken  with  an  understood  undertone  of  that  de¬ 
lightful  artillery- music  which  at  its  best  splits  ear-drums  and 
breaks  windows,  and  at  its  worst  performs  the  Chinese  office 
of  frightening  into  fits  everybody  within  hearing. 

“The  exercises  at  the  Trocadero  were  set  down  for  half¬ 
past  two,  but  the  tickets  of  admission  named  eleven  A.  M., 
and  as  the  light  rain  broke  and  the  sun  made  its  appearance 
at  half-past  ten,  I  took  a  fiacre  and  made  my  way  to  the 
Trocadero  side  of  the  Exhibition  at  once.  Even  when  L 
reached  the  scene  of  attraction  of  the  day,  the  streets  in  the 
vicinity  were  almost  unpleasantly  crowded.  Even  at  that 
early  hour  nearly  every  description  of  vehicle  capable  of 
carrying  passengers  was  bringing  up  the  masses  from  every 
direction ;  and  the  tramways  from  the  Louvre  and  St. 
Augustin  seemed  vieing  with  each  other  as  to  the  number 
that  could  be  accommodated  in  a  single  vehicle  without  apply¬ 
ing  the  hanging-on-to-a-bee-hive  system  of  New  York.  Be¬ 
sides  what  the  wheels  could  do,  all  ages,  sexes  and  conditions 
were  pressing  up  on  foot.  With  the  exception  of  the  mon¬ 
archical  residents  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Honore,  who  had 
loudly  boasted  (so  people  said)  that  the  whole  thing  would  be 
a  failure  from  the  lack  of  their  countenance,  all  Paris  seemed 
determined  to  make  a  gala  day  of  the  occasion. 

“  I  passed  within  the  charmed  enclosure,  ascended  to  the 
main  balcony  of  the  Trocadero,  overlooking  all  the  city  and 


38 


PAMS  IN  ’78. 


its  suburbs  sweeping  westward,  southwestward  and  south¬ 
ward,  and  looked  upon  a  scene  nearly  as  impossible  to  de¬ 
scribe  as  to  duplicate.  Without  my  having  been  previously 
aware  of  the  fact,  the  atmospheric  conditions  were  the  very 
best  that  could  have  been  arranged,  and  the  whole  panorama 
was  as  much  grander  than  it  could  have  been  under  a  clear 
and  unbroken  sunshine,  as  a  mountain  range  from  the  valley, 
or  a  valley  from  a  mountain  outlook,  would  have  been  under 
similar  circumstances.  Every  object  on  which  I  looked  was 
brightened  by  the  rain,  as  if  newly  varnished  ;  trees,  flowers 
and  herbage  not  less  than  structures  made  with  hands  ;  on 
this  the  southern  sun  broke  out  at  intervals  with  a  fiery 
glow,  and  alternately  looked  softly  as  through  a  veil  of  illu¬ 
sion  ;  and  a  perpetual  play  of  shadow  and  sunlight  changing 
places  and  chasing  each  other,  followed  with  theatrical 
quickness  and  something  of  the  intensity  of  spectacular 
lime-light. 

“  That  special  section  of  Paris  with  which  Americans  are 
most  steadily  familiar,  from  the  western  end  of  the  boulevards 
to  the  Porte  St.  Martin,  lay  well  away  at  the  left,  the  glorious 
old  Madeleine  the  most  prominent  object,  and  the  Heights  of 
Montmartre  forming  the  noblest  of  back-grounds.  Nearer,  in 
the  same  direction,  and  further  westward,  the  eye  followed 
the  line  of  the  Rue  Royale  to  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  its 
blood-red  obelisk  and  splendid  fountains,  and  crept  up  to  the 
Champs  Elysees,  the  gray  bul  k  of  the  Palais  d’lndustne,  and  the 
towering  round  structure  (do  you  know  the  name?  I  do  not) 
not  far  from  the  Rond  Point  and  on  the  Avenue  Montaigne.* 
Dropping  back,  it  caught  the  long  Seine  front  of  the  Louvre, 
and  what  was  the  front  of  the  Tuilleries,  partially  behind  the 
garden  of  the  latter  name,  with  glimpses  of  the  Palais  Royal 
and  the  higher  buildings  in  its  neighborhood,  overtopped  by 
the  queer  old  Tour  St.  Jacques  as  an  appropriate  finish.  Yet 
beyond,  and  where  the  Se:ne  had  so  far  curved  itself  westward 
as  to  be  quite  invisible,  rose  grandly  in  the  distance  the  broad 
towers  of  Notre  Dame,  with  the  Conciergerie  and  the  Palais 
de  Justice  and  Hotel  Dieu  only  a  glimmer  below.  Still  sweep- 

*  That,  Tommy,  was  the  Jardin  Mabille . 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


39 


ing  westward,  and  nearer,  arose  the  distant  dome  of  the  Pan¬ 
theon,  the  twin  towers  of  St.  Clothilde  and  St.  Sulpice,  the 
spires  of  St.  Eustache  and  St.  Etienne  du  Mont,  and  a  score  of 
other  objects  notable  elsewhere  and  otherwise  rather  than 
here  and  now,  with  the  Luxembourg  hazy  in  the  far  distance. 
Still  nearer,  the  gilded  dome  of  the  Invalides,  with  the  chang¬ 
ing  and  doubtful  sun  playing  fantastic  tricks  upon  it ;  the 
Ecole  Militaire  and  its  grounds  ;  and  then,  almost  at  the  feet 
of  the  gazer,  the  Exposition  Palace,  stately  though  flat,  with 
its  five  towers,  statued  fi^ade,  annexes  and  ornamental 
grounds,  carried  over  by  the  Pont  de  Jena  and  up  to  the  feet 
indeed,  in  the  rising  shrubberies,  buildings,  and  water-glories 
of  the  river  side  of  the  Trocadero.  Thus  severely  strained, 
and  here  resting  a  moment,  the  gaze  still  swept  up  on  the 
northward  to  Passy,  Auteuil,  and  the  bosky  green  of  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne. 

“  The  Seine  has  not  been  at  all  considered  as  a  feature  of 
this  view.  It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  it  sup¬ 
plied  no  important  part  of  it.  For,  alternately  glinting  with 
silver  under  the  outbreaking  sun,  and  lying  in  sullen  gloom 
under  the  momentary  thickness  of  the  clouds,  the  little  his¬ 
toric  stream  well  played  its  part  in  the  pageant.  The  little 
steamboats,  even  at  that  early  hour  crowded  with  passengers, 
went  puffing  up  and  down  and  in  every  direction  ;  and  every¬ 
thing  else  in  the  shape  of  a  boat  darted  and  glanced  and  glided 
about,  most  of  them,  at  the  distance,  looking  like  so  many 
shuttle-bugs  of  the  American  brooks,  various  in  color,  and 
with  specially  long  legs  and  antennae  supplied  by  the  long 
sweep  of  the  oars.  What  anyone  expected  to  know  of  the 
Exposition  by  going  out  in  a  boat  where  none  of  its  operations 
could  be  seen,  is  perhaps  a  problem  ;  but  all  the  same  the 
aquatic  exercise  was  general,  and  all  the  same  it  added  mater¬ 
ially  to  the  liveliness  of  a  spectacle  that  even  Paris  has  not 
often  excelled  in  the  very  oddity  of  variety  joined  to  the  abso¬ 
lute  embarrassment  of  extent.” 


VI. 

TIIE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. — (Continued.) 

“  I  am  inclined  to  think  (ana-Tom-ically)  that  when  any 
building  is  erected,  intended  for  great  public  uses,  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  have  some  balcony  or  piazza  connected  with  it, 
sufficiently  large  and  prominent  to  allow  of  any  outdoor 
gathering  on  it  that  may  become  a  necessity  in  connection 
with  that  building.  The  builders  of  our  Capitol,  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  had  the  same  idea,  and  hence  the  mighty  piazzas  on  which 
so  large  a  part  of  the  Presidential  inauguration  ceremonies  are 
conducted.  The  people  who  put  up  the  Main  Building  at  the 
Philadelphia  Centennial  Grounds  (they  tell  me)  did  7iot  have 
this  idea,  and  hence  the  necessity,  for  the  opening  there,  of 
temporary  platforms  bringing  into  use  pretty  nearly  all  the 
planks  in  the  lumber-dealing  Quaker  City.  The  people  who 
arranged  and  built  the  Trocadero  Palace  were  wiser  than  their 
brothers  at  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  colonnaded  balconies  of 
that  erection  supplied  a  permanent  platform  for  any  meetings 
and  any  exhibitions  likely  to  occur  there  within  the  next 
century  or  two  at  least.  And  yet,  another  and  a  temporary 
platform,  or  “tribune,”  as  Republican  France  chooses  to  call 
it,  was  erected  still  in  front,  where,  had  there  been  any  possi¬ 
bility  of  eclipsing  the  magnificent  view  from  the  front  of  the 
building  proper,  that  advantage  would  certainly  have  been 
secured.  A  most  substantial  structure,  so  hung  with  red  cloth 
and  silver,  and  so  decorated  with  the  involved  colors  of  all 
the  prominent  nations  of  the  earth,  that  it  needed  a  keen  eye 
to  recognize  that  it  was  actually  other  than  part  of  the  oddly 
beautiful  and  beautifully  odd  building  which  it  fronted. 

“  Some  arrivals  and  introductions,  however,  of  no  secondary 
consequence,  were  to  take  place  elsewhere  than  on  that 
balcony;  and  again  my  indescribable  privilege  came  into  use, 
and  my  retiring  modesty  went  into  the  background  on  the 
necessity  of  witnessing  those  preliminaries. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


41 


“The  reception  saloon  of  the  Trocadero,  fitted  up  especially 
for  the  gathering  of  notables,  had  scarlet  furniture  and  uphols¬ 
tery,  but  exhibited  a  feature  appealing  to  the  most  aesthetic 
taste  as  well  as  the  more  ordinary,  in  being  hung  with  Gobelin 
tapestry  to  an  extent  ot  richness  and  luxury  rarely  paralleled 
in  the  history  of  decoration.  (Those  who  pass  through  the 
Trocadero  Palace,  with  due  observation,  later  in  the  season, 
will  know  that  probably  no  such  gathering  of  this  inesti¬ 
mable  luxury  in  hangings,  has  ever  before  been  formed, 
to  delight  human  eyes,  at  once,  in  all  the  ages.)  The  eye 
that  saw  can  scarcely  recall,  even  the  hour  after,  the  effect 
in  color,  in  such  a  chamber,  of  the  brilliant  uniforms  that 
began  to  fill  it  very  soon  after  the  opening  of  the  main 
entrance,  and  that  before  the  arrival  of  the  President  had 
culminated  in  a  blaze  of  rich  light  and  costly  glitter  impossible 
to  describe,  and  tasking  the  very  strength  of  conception. 

“  Writing  especially  for  Americans,  I  have  no  apologies  to 
make  for  first  noticing,  among  the  official  arrivals,  three 
whom  good  fortune  or  excellent  management  brought  to¬ 
gether  in  the  right  place  at  the  right  time.  Minister  Noyes, 
of  the  American  mission  to  France,  could  not  well  be  absent 
at  a  period  so  important  to  so  many  of  his  countrymen.  His 
good-looking  face  seemed  a  little  shadowed,  I  thought,  by  the 
pesterations  that  had  followed  him  from  home,  and  that  I 
hope  he  may  be  able  to  brush  away,  like  so  many  gad-flies, 
before  the  season  is  over.  But  it  was  good  to  see  the  tall 
form,  high  brow  and  benevolent  face  of  Philadelphia  John 
Welsh,  American  Minister  to  England,  close  beside  him,  and  to 
recognize  the  propriety  ot  the  man  who  seems  to  have  done 
so  much  (so  they  all  tell  me)  for  the  Centennial  Exhibition  at 
home,  standing  in  a  position  of  honor,  to  give  the  counte¬ 
nance  of  a  stainless  life  and  a  noble  record  to  this  abroad, 
however  accredited  beyond  the  Channel.  But  there  was  still 
another,  and  this  third  face  set  me  to  thinking  as  I  had  not 
before  done  in  many  a  day.  Bayard  Taylor,  Minister  to  Ger¬ 
many,  was  the  third  of  this  special  group  ;  and  what  a  field 
for  thought,  even  for  others  than  myself,  was  embodied  in  the 


42 


PARIS  IX  78. 


stout  form,  the  thinning  hair,  and  the  kindly  face  with  the 
eyes  so  heavily  drawn  down  at  the  corners  !  I  have  the 
‘  Views-a-Foot  ’  among  the  American  books  of  my  little 
library  on  the  Nesenbach  ;  perhaps  you  know,  as  well  as  any 
other,  how  I  came  by  it  and  by  my  somewhat  intimate  knowl¬ 
edge  of  a  man  so  much  older  than  myself,  who  has  lived  a 
romance  while  he  travelled  over  nearly  the  known  world, 
and  who  seems  to  have  no  enemies  to  leaven  his  troops  of 
friends.  May  of  1878.  Through  what  had  this  man  passed, 
since  (it  must  have  been  in  1846,  though  I  can  find  no  date  to 
the  pencilling)  he  first  set  foot  in  Paris,  and  wrote  of  it; 

‘  What  a  gay  little  world  in  miniature  this  is  !  I  wonder  not 
that  the  French,  with  their  exuberant  gayety  of  spirit,  should 
revel  in  its  ceaseless  tides  of  pleasure,  as  if  it  were  an  earthly 
elysium.’  Little,  then,  could  the  bright-faced  and  curly- 
haired  boy,  whose  picture,  with  alpenstock  in  hand  and  blouse 
on  shoulder,  looks  out  at  me  every  time  I  open  the  old  book 
with  its  broken  binding — little,  I  say,  could  the  poor  young 
fellow,  whose  limited  means  more  than  once  blocked  him  on 
his  way  and  eventually  sent  him  home  with  what  he  then 
believed  so  much  of  the  Old  World  abandoned  unseen  for¬ 
ever-little  could  he  have  foreseen  the  day  when,  gray  and 
honored,  he  should  carry  the  weight  of  one  of  the  most 
important  missions  in  the  world  on  those  same  shoulders, 
and  stand  in  such  a  scene  as  this,  among  the  notable  and 
specially-observed  where  all  were  notable.  I  do  not  know 
him,  personally  ;  I  may  never  know  him  more  nearly  ;  and 
yet  I  ‘  confirm  ’  his  appointment  to  that  mission,  quite  as 
cordially  as  they  say  that  the  Senate  did,  not  for  any  political 
or  diplomatic  power  that  he  may  possess,  but  because  he  has 
written,  most  of  them  long  ago,  the  ‘  Crusades,’  (over  the  hat, 
coat  and  sword  of  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  in  the  Imperial  Armory 
at  Vienna),  ‘Sunken  Treasures,’  the  ‘  Requiem  in  the  North,’ 
and  that  sweetest  recognition  of  the  sweetest  song  in  all  love- 
music,  ‘Annie  Laurie,’  in  the  ‘  Song  of  the  Camp.’  And  if, 
th  rougbout  the  ceremonies  of  the  day,  I  more  than  once 
looked  away  from  the  decorations  of  others  to  gaze  again  on 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


43 


the  Minister  of  the  United  States  at  Berlin,  take  notice  (and 
he  may  take  notice,  too,  if  he  ever  glances  over  this)  that  I 
was  not  observing  the  diplomat,  the  novelist,  or  the  German 
scholar  of  America,  but  the  i boy -traveller  and  the  poet !  * 

“There  were  several  other  ambassadors;  but  the  most 
noticeable  among  them,  if  not  the  most  notable,  were  Prince 
Orloff,  tall  and  stately,  wearing  a  Russian  General’s  uniform 
which  fitted  him  like  a  glove  ;  the  Japanese  Ambassador,  who 
conceded  to  the  West  by  wearing  a  European  court  dress  ;  and 
the  Chinese,  who  presented  a  marked  contrast  by  wearing  the 
flowing  silk  robes  of  the  Flowery  Land,  very  much  to  the  ad¬ 
miration  of  all  eyes  in  search  of  the  picturesque. 

“  The  royal  personages  arrived  with  a  punctuality  at  least 
showing  that  their  duties  if  not  their  hearts  lay  with  the  cere¬ 
mony.  Madame  La  Marechale  MacMahon,  Duchess  de  Ma¬ 
genta  and  wife  of  the  Marshal  President,  claims  the  first  place. 
She  came  accompanied  by  her  son,  a  stripling  of  indefinable 
age,  and  was  received  with  much  courtesy  and  no  little  warmth. 
With  gray  hair,  as  became  the  years  that  must  be  somewhat 
past  sixty,  she  carries  those  years  well,  and  has  a  stately 
dignity  which  well  becomes  the  woman  for  the  time  the  ‘  First 
Lady  of  France.’  She  was  closely  followed  by  a  woman  who 
has  probably  attracted  as  many  eyes  and  caused  as  much  con¬ 
versation  as  any  other  female  on  the  globe — ex-Queen  Isabella 
of  Spain,  who  used  to  be  so  fond  of  sweets  and  all  the  other 
belongings  of  riotous  girlhood,  that  they  nick-named  her  ‘  Is¬ 
abel  Bon  Bon.’  She  must  be  past  fifty,  now,  is  stout,  and  has 
never  been  handsome,  but  is  and  has  been  undeniably  attrac¬ 
tive  as  well  as  more  than  a  little  notorious.  Her  husband, 
Don  Fran9ois  d’Assis,  came  later  with  the  grave  and  stately 
Spanish  Embassy,  the  members  of  which  seemed  to  have  been 
lately  at  West  Point,  if  one  could  judge  by  the  ramrody  up¬ 
rightness  of  their  carriage.  Looking  at  that  quiet  but  manceu- 
vering  prince,  and  then  glancing  at  the  ex-Oueen,  it  was  not 
very  difficult  to  see  how  and  why  the  gray  mare  had  been  the 
better  horse  during  all  the  continuance  of  that  ill-omened  pol¬ 
itical  marriage,  which,  after  all,  may  have  had  one  good  result 


*  1  he  regretted  later  death  of  Mr.  Taylor,  does  not  necessitate  any  change  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding,  but  requires  this  notic... 


44 


PARIS  IN  78. 


in  so  clever  a  young  fellow  as  the  boy  King  Alfonso,  who 
has  carried  himself  steadily  since  his  accession,  curbed  his 
dangerous  mother,  and  made  an  undeniable  love-match  of 
pleasant  promise  with  school-girl  Mercedes  of  Montpensier. 

“  Spanish  royalty,  or  the  ramifications  of  it,  did  not  end  here, 
however  ;  for  directly  came  an  ex-King  of  that  lively  country, 
in  Prince  Amadeus  of  Savoy,  son  of  my  old  idol,  Victor  Em¬ 
manuel,  and  looking  something  like  a  reduced  copy  of  that 
homely  and  straightforward  hunter  of  wolves  and  enemies  of 
Italian  unity,  whom  I  saw  seven  years  ago,  at  Florence,  driv¬ 
ing  in  an  old  battered  caleche  that  would  have  been  relegated 
to  the  back  yard  by  any  carriage-maker  with  a  conscience, 
and  with  a  span  of  horses  of  the  calibre  of  the  Third  avenue 
railroad.  Don’t  imagine  this  to  be  intended  for  disrespect. 
While  Victor  Emmanuel  lived,  I  never  failed  to  lift  my  hat  on 
coming  into  the  presence  of  the  Italian  flag,  which  typed  for 
me  not  only  the  glory  ol  the  old  Latin  peninsula,  but  the  per¬ 
sonal  status  of  the  odd  human  being  who  was  what  they  called 
him — the  ‘  Re  Galantuomo.'  Prince  Amadeus  has  much  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  dead  king;  and  he  was  received,  on  this 
occasion,  not  only  warmly,  but  almost  with  effusion,  as  was  his 
younger  and  finer-looking  brother,  the  Duke  of  Aosta. 

“Not  long  after  the  Italian  princes,  came  Prince  William  of 
Orange,  heir  apparent  of  Holland,  a  pleasant-looking  young 
man,  with  no  specialty  demanding  description,  accompanied 
by  his  uncle,  Prince  Henry  of  Holland,  the  better  looking 
man  of  the  two,  if  the  years  could  have  been  equalized. 

“  But  all  this,  to  me,  after  a  few  moments  was  neutralized 
by  another  arrival — that  of  one  in  whom  I  happened  to  take  a 
peculiar  interest,  from  causes  that  lie  too  deep  down  lor  me  to  be 
able  to  explain  them,  and  that  consequently  may  puzzle  some 
one  else  than  myself.  Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
heir  apparent  to  that  mightv  Empire  which  now  has  an  Em¬ 
press-Queen  at  the  head  of  it — as  also  President  of  the  English 
Commission  at  the  Exposition — came  in  a  state  carriage,  with 
a  brilliant  retinue,  and  excited  far  less  of  attention  than  of 
pleasure,  from  the  very  fact  that  he  has  never  made  a  distant 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


43 


lay  monarchical  figure  of  himself,  but  gone  very  far  towards 
being  a  ‘  man  of  the  people.’ 

“  How  well  I  remember  the  day  when  we,  of  America, 
received  young  Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  in  New  York! 
We,  though  I  was  at  the  time  only  a  boy  of  twelve,  with  no 
idea  that  I  should  ever  (hem  !)  have  the  honor  of  acting  as 
special  foreign  correspondent  to  so  dignified  a  person  as  the 
Governor,  then  already  nearly  antiquated  and  holding  the  high 
dignity  of  being  a  clerk  in  the  New  York  City  Hall,  and  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  official  Leader  !  (By  the  way,  if  I  mistake 
not,  that  same  Governor  was  concerned  in  a  somewhat 
complimentary  blunder  on  the  part  of  His  Royal  Highness, 
who  could  not  believe  that  any  one  of  less  dignity  than  a 
high  city  official,  or  a  national  statesman,  would  thrust  him¬ 
self  so  far  forward  as  the  said  Governor  did,  without  occasion, 
and  who  consequently  gave  him,  the  said  Governor,  the  lowest 
of  bows  and  the  warmest  of  hand-shakes,  immediately  after 
similarly  greeting  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  and 
Acting  Mayor — was  not  his  name  Peck  ?  It  seems  to  me  that 
some  of  the  newspapers  amused  themselves  over  it  at  the 
time  ;  am  I  not  correct  in  my  recollection  ?) 

“  But  to  return  to  what  I  personally  know  of  that  reception, 
I  was  only  a  boy,  as  I  have  already  said  ;  but  I  went  out  with 
my  mother  and  some  other  members  of  the  family,  in  a  car¬ 
riage,  and  saw  what  1  believe  to  have  been  the  very  best  pro¬ 
cession  and  the  most  enthusiastic  gathering  that  New  York 
ever  knew.  We  accompanied  the  procession  for  a  considera¬ 
ble  distance,  and  saw  all  that  was  to  be  seen,  you  may  make 
up  your  mind  to  that  effect !  What  awfully  bad  hats  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  and  some  of  the  others  did  wear  !  and  how 
straight  in  the  brim  was  the  ‘tile  ’  of  Lord  Lyons,  who  looked 
sombre  enough,  I  remember,  to  have  been  accompanying  one 
of  his  own  family  to  execution,  instead  of  the  son  of  his  Oueen 
in  the  reception  of  honors  abroad.  All  this  by  the  way  :  I  am 
getting  off,  again,  from  the  appearance  of  the  boy-prince,  as  I 
saw  him  that  day  with  the  eyes  of  a  boy-New  Yorker :  as  I 
saw  him,  and  liked  him  from  the  first  glance. 


4G 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


“  What  I  heard  an  old  gentleman  in  the  crowd  say  of  him, 
was,  indeed,  true:  ‘a  fine-looking,  mannerly  young  fellow, 
showing  good  blood  and  good  bringing  up  !  ’  said  that  old  per¬ 
son,  using  the  words  of  home  life  ;  and  they  told  the  whole 
story.  He  was  not  especially  bright-looking,  with  that  well- 
cut  boy  face,  the  nose  a  trifle  prominent,  and  the  eyes  steel- 
blue  (at  least  they  looked  so)  under  the  short  cut  Saxon  hair. 
Not  especially  bright  looking,  but  decidedly^rwf  looking,  and 
carrying  an  amount  of  unobtrusive  dignity  that  would  not 
have  sat  so  well  upon  most  young  fellows  of  nineteen.  I  was 
pleased  with  his  appearance,  then  ;  I  have  been  pleased  with 
his  appearance  more  and  more,  in  the  several  times  that  I  have 
since  seen  him  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.  I  have 
watched  his  career  very  closely — I  suppose,  chiefly  because  he 
was  the  first  scion  of  royalty  whom  I  happened  to  see  ;  and  I 
think  that  I  have  known  him  better,  all  the  while,  than  most 
of  those  who  wrote  or  spoke  of  him. 

“  Has  he  been  a  trifle  wild — this  man  who  is  one  day,  if  God 
please,  to  be  King  of  England  ?  Probably.  Introduce  me  to 
the  young  man  who,  under  corresponding  circumstances, 
would  have  been  less  so,  and  I  will  pay  him  a  lower  reverence 
than  any  king  living.  Meanwhile,  he  has  done  what  all  of  us 
do  not  do,  I  am  afraid — ripened  with  his  years.  In  the  midst 
oi  the  abuses  and  undervaluation  of  half  England — not  on 
account  of  it — he  has  grown  more  manly  day  by  day,  and 
thrown  by,  at  a  very  early  period,  the  lighter  frivolities  of  his 
nature.  He  has  interested  himself  in  more  of  the  industries 
of  the  kingdom  one  day  to  be  his,  than  any  man  who  ever  pre¬ 
ceded  him  ;  he  has  travelled  more  extensively,  and  apparently 
more  intelligently,  than  all  of  them  put  together;  and  he  has 
done  more,  as  President  of  the  English  Commission,  to  aid 
France  in  this  show  of  1878,  and  to  induce  English  manufac¬ 
turers  and  English  artists  to  join  in  it,  than  any  other  man 
could  have  done,  or  any  other  man  would  have  tried  to  do. 
And  so,  and  partly  on  account  of  all  this,  I  say  that  England, 
in  the  prospect  of  having  what  your  poor  friend  and  ex¬ 
publisher,  Beeton,  called  an  ‘  Edward  the  Seventh,’  has  no 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION. 


47 


unpleasant  future  in  store  in  the  detail  of  her  monarchy.  She 
will  have  a  useful  and  a  conscientious  king,  in  my  opinion, 
All  the  better,  beyond  a  question,  if  his  throne  is  shared  by 
that  Alexandra  whose  sweet  personal  atmosphere  has  won  so 
many  English  hearts,  while  doing  her  duty  so  womanfully  in 
guarding  against  any  failure  in  succession. 

“  I  begin  to  think,  now,  that  England,  very  obtuse  for  so 
many  years,  has  her  eyes  open  to  the  omens  of  her  royalty. 
Perhaps  the  change  began  some  years  ago,  when  the  awful 
tragedy  of  bad  ventilation  took  place  at  Lord  Londesborough’s 
seat  on  the  Yorkshire  coast,  and  when  the  Heir  of  England 
came  so  near  to  dying  on  a  fever-bed  in  the  very  flower  of  his 
youth.  I  happened  to  be  in  London  when  the  bulletins  were 
hourly  coming,  announcing  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  would 
live;  that  he  would  not ;  that  he  might;  that  he  would,  unques¬ 
tionably  ;  and  so  I  chanced  to  see  the  faces  of  some  who  at  that 
moment  first  knew  how  much  they  cared  for  the  life  so  little 
valued  previously.  And  since  then,  I  think  that  the  balance 
has  been  more  evenly  hung  than  ever  before— not  the  less 
evenly,  perhaps,  of  late,  because  tire  Prince  is  understood  to 
be  in  close  intimacy  with  Lord  Beaconsfield,  who  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  moment  guides  many  of  the  best  hopes  of  Englishmen, 
which  the  Prince  may  merely  embody. 

“All  this,  without  my  having  as  yet  said  a  word  of  the 
appearance  of  the  Prince,  as  that  day  he  came,  with  his  bril¬ 
liant  retinue,  to  the  hall  of  reception.  And  for  this  only  a  few 
words  must  suffice.  The  stripling  of  i860  has  grown  to  be  the 
stout  man  of  1878.  His  face  is  full,  with  luxuriant  brown 
beard  and  moustache  worn  at  moderate  length,  and  the  brown 
hair  enough  worn  away  from  the  brow  to  indicate  fi ft y  instead 
of  thirty-seven,  and  eventual  baldness  as  a  certainty.  But  the 
blue  eyes  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  boy  ;  and  the  whole  fine- 
looking  if  not  strictly  handsome  face  and  figure  tell  merely  of 
the  rapid  changing,  under  a  hot  sun,  of  eighteen  years.  He 
wore,  on  this  occasion,  the  scarlet  of  a  Field  Marshal,  with 
only  a  single  order  of  other  decoration  ;  showed  all  the  kindly 
courtesy  of  his  nature  in  receiving  the  warm  recognitions 


48 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


accorded  him,  and  bore  with  him  at  the  moment  a  pleasant 
remembrance  of  the  peerless  princess  left  behind  him.  in  the 
company  of  her  brother,  who,  though  stouter  and  browner, 
might  in  face  almost  have  been  her  twin — Frederick,  Crown 
Prince  of  Denmark,  who  leaned  upon  his  arm. 

“  There  were  yet  more  notables — but  how  shall  I  name  them 
all  without  exceeding  my  limit  in  postage  ? — more  who  came 
into  the  saloon  before  the  arrival  of  the  President.  Let  them 
be  ‘  understood,’  even  if  I  did  not  understand  them  all  and  if 
your  readers  fail  to  do  so.  One  man,  however,  deserves  to 
be  mentioned,  especially  at  this  moment  and  in  advance  of 
another  man  who  is  coming — Francois  Certain  de  Canrobert, 
Marshal  of  that  name,  and  only  second  to  the  Marshal-Presi¬ 
dent,  if  second  to  him  at  all,  in  his  connection  with  French 
glories  of  what  may  be  called  the  ‘  middle  period.’  Marshal 
Canrobert,  gray  almost  to  the  verge  of  whiteness,  came  limping 
in  at  a  little  before  two  ;  and  every  one  in  the  apartment,  except 
possibly  there  may  have  been  a  few  of  those  who  too  well 
remembered  and  hated  the  events  of  December,  1852,  bowed  to 
the  old  warrior.  With  him,  it  seemed  to  me,  came  in  Algiers, 
the  Crimea  and  Italy,  all  necessary  to  be  remembered  when 
speaking  of  the  later  military  glory  of  France.  For  it  is  more 
than  fifty  years  since  this  grand  old  soldier  of  seventy  entered 
at  the  military  school  of  St.  Cyr,  and  more  than  fifty-five  have 
passed  since  he  commenced  his  epauletted  career  in  Africa. 
He  has  been  long  a  terrible  sufferer  from  the  gout,  hence  the 
limp  already  alluded  to  ;  but  who  knows  that  its  fierceness 
and  its  location  may  not  have  been  found  in  the  mangling  of 
that  leg  in  the  terrible  attack  on  Constantine,  in  October, 
1837,  which  won  him  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor!  This 
was  the  man,  I  remembered,  who  commanded  at  the  terrible 
Pass  of  Djerma  ;  who  literally  annihilated  the  Kabyles  ;  who 
for  the  time  forgot  that  he  was  Commander-in-Chief  at  Inker- 
mann,  plunged  into  the  thickest  of  that  fight,  had  a  horse 
killed  under  him,  received  another  serious  wound,  and  bore  it 
home  to  France  with  his  resignation  to  Pellissier  and  as  his 
warrant  for  a  Marshalship  of  France  and  the  Grand  Cross  of 
the  Order  of  the  Bath. 


THE  OTENING  OF  THE  EXPOSITION, 


49 


“Am  I  growing  too  military  ?  Perhaps  so  ;  but  the  glories 
even  of  the  Second  Empire  stir  me,  and  there  must  be  more  of 
the  same  historico-military  glimpses  following  very  closely.  If 
you  did  not  want  them,  why  did  you  bother  me  at  Stuttgart — 
me,  who  consider  the  soldier  as,  next  to  the  doctor,  the  most 
useful  and  the  most  dangerous  of  men  ? 


VII. 


THE  OPENING  OF  THE  PARIS  EXPOSITION. 

(  Concluded. ) 

“  If  there  was  any  dependence  to  be  placed  on  the  noise 
that  we  heard,  even  at  the  Trocadero  Palace,  the  progress  of 
President  MacMahon  from  his  official  residence  at  the  Elysee 
to  the  place  of  the  opening,  must  have  been  one  very  grati¬ 
fying  to  him,  Some  friends  who  were  on  the  line  afterwards 
told  me  that  the  crowd,  the  whole  way,  was  immense  enough 
to  indicate  that  there  could  be  nobody  anywhere  else  ;  and 
the  continued  applause,  they  said,  was  quite  sufficient  to 
indicate  that  the  warrior  as  well  as  the  President  of  the 
Republic  was  warmly  recognized.  To  all  this  hubbub  of  the 
people  there  was  of  course  to  be  added  the  continuous  thun¬ 
dering  of  cannon  from  the  fortifications,  from  the  Invalides, 
and  one  of  the  islands  in  the  Seine  ;  and  to  the  life  and  color 
of  the  Marshal-President's  state  carriage,  surrounded  by  a 
brilliant  staff,  there  was  also  to  be  added  the  kaleidoscopic 
variety  of  the  gay  dresses  of  the  season  among  the  liveliest 
people  upon  earth,  the  fluttering  of  ten  thousand  flags  and 
streamers,  and  all  the  other  visible  emblems  of  Paris  being  at 
the  moment  in  a  state  of  acute  suffering  from  tele  montee ,  or 
rather  tctc  cxaltec,  which  to  the  English  ear  translates  as  light¬ 
headedness  ! 

“  It  was  about  two  o'clock  when  the  noise,  which  had  for  an 
hour  been  terrific  though  distant,  became  redoubled  in  the 
nearer  approach  of  the  President.  Some  culmination  of 
boom,  hitherto  held  in  reserve  in  the  cannon,  thundered  out. 
The  noble  band  of  the  Garde  Repnblicaine  (you  heard  it,  old 
man,  in  1867,  as  the  band  of  the  Garde  Imperiale  !* )  broke  out 
with  the  ‘  Marseillaise,’  correcting  itself  the  moment  later 
with  something  new-tangled  that  I  did  not  know  ;  and  from 

*  Yes,  and  heard  it  again.  Tommy,  in  London,  in  1871,  as  the  Band  of  the  Garde 
Republicaine — not  by  any  means  improved. 


OPENING  OF  THE  PARIS  EXPOSITION. 


51 


without  the  cry  came  up,  mingled  hoarsely,  as  if  rough  men 
did  most  of  the  shouting,  ‘  Vive  Mac  Mahon.  !'  '  Vive  la  France  T 
‘Vive  la  Rcpublique  !'  ‘ Vive  le  President !'  It  was,  of  course, 
treason  in  me  to  expect  to  hear  that  other  cry  which  both  you 
and  I  had  heard  in  other  years,  when  the  same  crowd  (materi¬ 
ally)  was  shouting,  and  the  same  band  playing:  ‘Vive 
T Empereur  !’  But  my  mental  ears  listened,  and  thought  that 
they  heard  it,  as  an  undertone,  possibly  very  much  below  the 
breath,  and  perhaps  (who  knows?)  never  to  be  heard  aloud 
again  in  France.  But  all  this  by  the  way,  and  very  irrelevant 
to  the  opening  of  the  Exposition  ! 

“  The  Marshal-President  was  received  at  the  grand  entrance 
on  the  Place  du  Roi  de  Rome,  by  the  Prelect  of  the  Seine  and 
all  the  officers  of  State,  there  in  waiting,  and  there  in  all  the 
splendor  capable  of  being  communicated  by  colored  cloths 
and  gold  lace.  The  noise,  which  I  could  not  avoid  character¬ 
izing,  in  my  own  mind,  as  the  ‘  row,'  redoubled  ;  the  band  let 
out  another  link  in  melodious  sound  ;  and  the  shouts  were 
near  enough  to  deafening  for  any  approach  to  comfort.  A 
moment  of  expectancy,  not  hushed,  but  flushed  and  fluttering, 
and  then  the  ruler  of  France,  accompanied  by  his  brilliant 
staff,  entered  the  saloon,  greeted  the  distinguished  company 
there  in  waiting,  and  was  very  warmly  received  in  return. 

“You  have  personally  seen  Marie  Edme  Patrick  Maurice, 
Marshal  de  MacMahon  and  Duke  of  Magenta,  so  often,  that 
you  may  describe  him  at  your  leisure  to  those  who  read,  if 
you  like.  I  need  only  say  of  him  that  he  is  above  middle 
height,  a  trifle  stout,  though  looking  rather  gaunt  than  the 
reverse,  with  an  iron  face,  eyes  that  seem  to  have  been  gray  in 
his  youth,  and  hair  and  moustache  grayed  almost  to  white.  He 
wore  that  day  the  full  uniform  of  the  Marshal,  green  and 
white,  with  heavy  embroidery  and  the  Grand  Cross  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  ;  and  he  bore  in  his  hand,  as  he  entered,  a 
plumed  chapeau  of  which  the  ostrich  feathers  filling  the  sunken 
crown  would  have  made  the  eyes  of  one  of  your  Fifth  Avenue 
belles  dance  with  envy.  A  somewhat  rough  but  grandly 
soldierly-looking  man,  a  year  or  two  older  than  Marshal  Can- 


5 


52 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


robert  (seventy-one,  in  fact),  but  looking  good  for  ten  years 
more  of  life,  and  not  at  all  likely  to  fall  from  disease  before  the 
end  of  his  term  in  1S80. 

“  We  have  already  contemplated,  lately,  one  prominent 
figure  in  French  military  history.  Let  us  briefly  contemplate 
another,  as  there  was  nothing  else  at  Paris,  that  day,  better 
worthy  of  the  thought  or  the  words.  This  man  was  of  a  race 
(Irish — you  may  have  heard  of  it  in  America  !)  that  lost  all,  at 
home,  for  the  Stuart  kings,  and  only  sought  a  new  home 
beyond  the  Channel  when  Culloden  had  finished  the  melan¬ 
choly  story,  forever.  A  race  that  had  mingled  in  marriage  with 
some  of  the  best  blood  of  France,  and  in  that  description  of 
battle  won  the  castle  and  estates  once  held  by  Maximilian  de 
Bethune,  Duke  of  Sully  and  Prime  Minister  to  Henry  the  Great. 
A  man  who  had  personally  been  in  the  French  service  for  nearly 
five-and-fifty  years,  since  his  entry  at  St.  Cyr  ;  who  fought  in 
the  Algerian  wars  so  long  back  as  1S30,  took  part  with  Achard 
in  the  Antwerp  expedition  of  1832,  shared  in  the  assault  on 
Constantine  in  1837,  and  commanded  at  the  storming  of  the 
Malakoff,  in  that  crowning  success  of  the  war  in  the  Crimea. 
A  Grand  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor ;  a  Knight  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Bath — both  for  those  services  in  the  Crimea.  The  com¬ 
mander  who  really  bore  the  brunt  in  the  fight  for  Italy’s 
freedom  and  unity,  with  a  splendid  share  in  most  of  the  battles 
of  that  campaign,  and  received  both  the  baton  of  a  Marshal 
and  the  Dukedom  of  Magenta  as  acknowledgments  of  his 
victorious  command  in  the  crowning  conflict  of  the  latter 
name. 

“  Surely  a  glorious  record  this  !  And  surely  I  was  a  little 
excusable  at  the  moment  of  his  entrance,  if  I  forgot,  in  the 
embodiment  of  forty  years  military  history  which  he  presented,, 
that  he  had  failed,  like  all  others,  matched  against  Von  Moltke 
and  the  needle-gun  of  Germany  in  1870-71.  I  did  not  know 
then,  and  I  do  not  know  to-day  and  thinking  over  the 
question,  what  the  grave  and  gray  old  Marshal  really 
represents — the  Republic  ?  the  interests  of  the  Bonapartes, 
concentrated  in  the  Prince  Imperial  ?  or  the  Bourbon  interest 


OPENING  OF  THE  PARTS  EXPOSITION. 


53 


that  has  bidden  very  high  for  him  at  times?  '  Who  can  say 
whether  he  represents  either,  and  if  so,  which  ;  or  whether  he 
is  simply  Marshal  Edme  Patrick  MacMahon,  fighting  ‘for  his 
own  hand,’  and  doing  it  very  successfully,  with  an  amount  of 
quiet  intellect  not  suspected  by  the  factions  attempting  to 
manage  him  ?  Not  being  at  all  sure  whether  he  may  not  tire 
of  governing  (no,  merely  attempting  to  govern)  a  certain 
number  of  millions  of  irascible  Frenchmen,  before  1880 — or 
whether  he  may  not  choose  to  continue  to  govern  them  after 
that  time— I  merely  make  my  bow  to  him,  here,  a  very  low  one, 
as  I  did  on  that  occasion — I  think  without  his  being  heavily 
impressed  with  that  proceeding  on  my  part,  possibly  because 
he  did  not  see  me  ! 

“  Within  a  few  minutes  after  the  arrival  of  the  President, 
and  the  interchange  of  greetings  following,  a  procession  was 
formed,  proceeding  to  the  ‘  tribune  ’  temporarily  erected  for 
the  occasion  in  the  extreme  front  of  the  balcony,  and  already 
described.  And  at  the  moment  when  they  (and  we)  reached 
that  point,  I  may  say  that,  in  spite  of  the  threatening  clouds 
and  an  occasional  drop  of  rain  to  remind  us  of  the  oddest  of 
seasons,  such  a  view,  from  that  tribune  and  at  that  tribune, 
was  presented,  as  can  very  seldom  be  paralleled.  All  the 
features  of  the  first  have  been  previously  suggested  if  not 
described  ;  those  of  the  second  may  be  imagined,  with  the 
character  of  the  occupation  of  the  balcony  remembered. 

“  In  the  centre  of  the  tribune  the  Marshal-President  took 
his  seat.  At  his  right  were  Don  Francois  d’Assis,  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  Prince  Frederic  of  Denmark  ;  on  his  left  were 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  Prince  Amadeus  of  Savoy,  and  the  Duke 
of  Aosta.  A  little  at  the  right,  and  slightly  in  the  rear,  sat 
Madame  MacMahon  and  ex-Queen  Isabella.  Clustered  imme¬ 
diately  around  and  behind  this  group,  were  the  whole  body  of 
diplomats,  with  the  German  Ambassador,  Prince  Hohenlohe, 
seeming  the  most  conspicuous  figure,  perhaps  because  he 
seemed  an  impossibility  in  that  place,  and  with  their  embroid¬ 
ery  in  costume  kept  well  in  countenance  by  the  flash  of 
bullion  on  the  uniforms,  and  the  glitter  of  orders  on  the 


54 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


breasts,  of  most  of  the  first  men  of  France — Marshals,  Senators, 
and  others — whose  names  belong  to  history,  and  many  of  the 
first  men  of  Europe,  holding  equal  claim  to  the  world’s  atten¬ 
tion.  Probably  at  no  opening,  since  the  commencement  of 
International  Exhibitions,  have  there  been  on  anyone  platform 
more  men  of  note  than  were  here  visible  during  the  short 
period  of  the  ceremonies. 

“These  ceremonies  were,  to  say  truth,  quite  equal  to  the 
usual  average  in  stupidity,  though  possibly  answering  their 
place  very  well  as  ‘  the  thing  to  do.’  The  Marshal-President, 
dauntless  on  so  many  battle-fields,  looked  a  trifle  frightened 
from  the  beginning;  and  most  of  the  others  seemed  more  than 
a  trifle  bored,  as  some  disreputable  people  that  I  have  known 
do  during  a  sermon  or  a  service.  M.  Teisserenc  de  Bort, 
Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce,  a  stately  man,  without 
the  least  claim  to  the  character  of  an  orator,  read  an  address, 
in  which  he  stupidly  and  (as  I  think)  inappropriately,  more 
or  less  sacrificed  the  Exposition  on  the  altar  of  the  Republic, 
stating  that  the  thought  was  first  conceived  almost  at  the 
moment  when  that  government  was  established  ;  deducing 
theretrom  the  fact  that  in  it  the  course  of  the  government 
was  indicated  and  its  dependence  on  the  sympathies  of  the 
world  admitted.  So  far,  beyond  a  question,  M.  de  Bort  was 
talking  bunkum,  and  pleading  for  the  current  torm  of  govern¬ 
ment,  which  may  or  may  not  have  meant  for  the  continuance 
of  M.  de  Bort  in  office  as  Minister  of  Agriculture  and 
Commerce !  Afterward,  having  better  known  ground  to 
tread,  he  read  less  inconsequently — stating  that  the  Exhibition 
was  one  which  would  make  its  mark  by  proving  the  virility 
of  the  nation,  and  thanking  the  foreign  countries  which  had 
doubly  honored  France  by  sending  forward  their  arts  and 
manufactures,  and  by  affording  the  presence  of  their  most 
illustrious  citizens  and  best-loved  Princes.  (There  was  a  little 
jar  in  this  acknowledgment  ofthe  ‘  Princes  ’  of  other  nations, 
immediately  after  deifying  a  Republic  ;  but  let  that  pass  !)  So 
M.  Teisserenc  de  Bort  (whose  godfathers  ought  to  have  been 
indicted  for  giving  him  such  a  name  at  his  christening)  con- 


OPENING  OF  THE  PARIS  EXPOSITION. 


55 


eluded  his  blending  of  appropriate  address  and  inappropriate 
special  plea  ;  and — 

“  The  Marshal-President,  rising  with  an  alacrity  which 
indicated  that  the  address  had  bothered  him  quite  long 
enough,  said  (or  in  French  to  that  effect)  : 

“  ‘  I  desire  to  join  in  the  sentiments  expressed  by  the 
Minister  of  Commerce.  I  offer  my  congratulations  on  the 
magnificent  result  achieved,  and  of  which  I  am  happy  to  have 
representatives  from  the  whole  world  as  witnesses.  I  join 
also  in  thanking  the  foreign  nations  for  so  readily  and  nobly 
responding  to  the  appeal  of  France.’ 

“  Then,  advancing  a  step,  and  with  a  voice  much  louder  than 
that  ot  his  previous  words,  he  added  : 

“‘In  the  name  of  the  French  Republic,  I  declare  the 
Exposition  opened  !’ 

“Then  followed  what  could  be  called  the  apotheosis  of  the 
whole  Exposition.  To  judge  by  the  noise  which  resulted, 
there  would  seem  to  have  been  some  undefinable  doubt 
remaining  all  the  while,  whether  the  Germans  would  not  come 
back  again,  or  the  royalists  make  a  descent  from  the  Fau¬ 
bourg  St.  Honore,  and  the  show,  after  all,  never  be  opened. 
But  it  was  opened,  now  ;  and  the  evidences  of  joy,  which  we 
may  assume  to  have  somewhat  blended  the  patriotic  and  the 
pecuniary,  were  unmistakable.  A  burst  of  cheering  rang  out, 
followed  by  another  and  another,  that  for  a  few  moments 
drowned  the  boom  of  the  cannon  which  just  then  commenced 
firing  (for  what  reason  the  number  I  know  not)  a  salute  of 
one  hundred  and  one  guns  from  each  of  the  points  where 
they  were  stationed — at  Valerien,  the  Invalides,  &c.  More 
flags,  of  all  the  nations,  went  up  on  every  pinnacle  which  had 
as  yet  remained  even  partially  bare.  The  fountains,  thus  far 
kept  a  trifle  low,  commenced  playing  at  their  full  height.  An 
hundred  or  two  pieces  of  music  burst  out  in  unison  and  accord 
(though  here  they  did  not  bring  back  the  three  thousand 
brass  instruments  that  I  once  heard  play  together  for  the 
Emperor  in  the  Parc  Francais).  To  make  the  scene,  which  was 
reallyone  of  the  most  impressive  ever  known,  much  brighter 


56 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


and  more  enjoyable,  the  sun  broke  out  from  a  rift  in  the  clouds 
and  gilded  the  Gardens,  the  Seine,  the  Exposition  Palace,  the 
Paris  away  over  yonder,  everything  within  reach  of  the  eye, 
with  its  indispensable  and  ineffable  glory. 

“  ‘  Aren’t  you  glad  you  came  ?’  demanded,  sotto  voce,  a  young¬ 
ster  of  a  certain  noble  family,  who  had  admittance  on  the 
tribune,  and  who  chanced  t.o  know  your  humble  but  decided 
correspondent. 

“The  saucy  query  was  not  answered  at  the  moment,  in  the 
fear  of  being  heard  and  your  correspondent  ejected  ;  but  I 
can  answer  it  now.  The  scene  was  one  worth  half  a  lifetime 
to  have  enjoyed  ;  one  ever  to  be  remembered.  Where  else, 
under  the  broad  heaven,  could  such  constituents  for  a  notable 
view  have  been  found  ?  Under  what  other  circumstances, 
even  here,  could  motion,  light,  sound,  color,  have  been  brought 
into  such  overwhelming  conjunction  ? 

“  I  have  nearly  finished.  The  Marshal-President,  his  strong 
but  heavy  old  face  brighter  than  it  had  before  been  since  his 
coming,  thanked  M.  Krantz,  the  organizer,  for  the  efforts 
which  had  done  so  much  to  bring  about  this  auspicious  open, 
ing.  M.  Krantz  (so  far  as  I  could  hear)  principally  respond¬ 
ed  in  dumb  show.  Then  followed  the  re-forming  (don’t  set 
that  word  without  a  hyphen!)  of  the  procession,  which  made 
the  circuit  of  the  Trocadero,  and  then  took  its  way  down 
the  main  allee  of  the  height,  and  over  the  Pont  de  Jena  to 
the  Main  Palace,  the  Marshal  on  this  occasion  walking  between 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  on  his  right,  and  Prince  Amadeus  of 
Savoy,  on  his  left,  with  his  retinue  in  all  the  brilliancy  of 
personality  and  costume  before  indicated,  and  many  hundreds 
in  number — perhaps  reaching  nearly  one  thousand.  A  slight 
dash  of  rain  marred  the  effect,  but  only  for  a  moment,  as  the 
procession  neared  the  Main  Palace,  the  whole  way  to  which 
was  splendidly  kept  by  a  body  of  troops  on  either  side,  in 
excellent  alignment.  And  when  the  procession  reached  the 
front  of  the  Main  Palace,  even  the  spectacle  already  ex¬ 
hibited  in  the  tribune  was  materially  eclipsed,  numbers  now 
become  an  element  in  the  superiority.  On  the  terrace,  in 


OPENING  OF  THE  PARIS  EXPOSITION. 


57 


front  of  the  statued  facade,  and  beneath  the  flags  of  all 
nations  waving  from  the  finials,  were  the  body  of  French 
Commissioners,  the  Council  of  State,  Senators,  Academicians, 
the  members  of  the  Institute  and  the  Legion  of  Honor, 
Councils  and  Magistrates,  and  indeed  every  variety  of  officials 
and  deputies,  in  robes,  flashing  orders,  rich  uniforms,  and  every 
detail  appealing  to  the  eye  and  the  imagination.  Did  I  say 
that  the  scene  from  the  Trocadero  was  matchless?  If  that  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Main  Palace  did  not  excel  it,  certainly  it 
rivalled  it  and  any  preceding  having  place  within  the  century. 

“  What  need  that  I  should  describe  the  progress  of  the  Pres¬ 
ident  and  the  procession  through  the  Palace — a  mere  matter 
of  form,  with  little  opportunity,  and  as  little  desire,  for  obser¬ 
vation  ?  Nothing  was  quite  ready;  and  the  pressure  of  the 
crowd,  during  portions  of  this  progress,  was  inconvenient  and 
on  the  verge  of  being  riotous,  though  never  reaching  that 
point.  The  official  body  entered  through  the  Grand  Entrance, 
and  passed  along  the  avenue  in  front  of  the  facades  of  the 
different  nations  (a  point  of  description  that  you  will  better 
understand  after  personal  visit),  in  front  of  each  of  which  stood 
the  Commission  of  the  nation  to  which  it  belonged,  with  the 
attaches  connected. 

“  I  need  not  say  that  the  progress  was  one  succession  of 
greetings  by  and  between  the  official  body  in  movement  and 
the  official  bodies  in  waiting.  Your  America,  ay,  and  my  America, 
may  be  glad  always  to  remember  that  Commissioner-General 
McCormick  and  his  staff,  with  the  marines  appointed  for  the 
American  service  during  the  Exposition,  made  a  show  among 
the  most  creditable  on  the  line,— and  that  the  greeting,  that  day 
of  the  Commission  by  the  Marshal-President,  was  markedly 
unhurried,  appreciative  and  cordial.  How  much  of  this  was 
due  to  the  erect  figure  and  fine  soldierly  face  of  Governor 
McCormick,  who  might  himself  have  been  a  Marshal  of  France 
if  there  was  anything  in  the  appearance  of  the  strong,  good- 
humored  face,  with  its  close  mustache — and  how  much  to  the 
knowledge  which  the  Marshal-President  may  have  possessed, 
that  this  was  one  of  the  men  who  ‘  wrote;  about  him  in  the 


58 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


newspapers,’  from  the  Crimea — all  this  I  am  unable  to  guess: 
it  is  enough  to  understand  that  America  was  known  to  be  well 
represented  on  the  occasion,  and  that  the  man  who  knew  so 
much  was  the  one  whose  good  opinion  was  of  the  first  con¬ 
sequence.  Then,  through  the  French  section,  and  to  the 
Military  School,  where  the  body  of  workmen  were  stationed 
especially  for  the  official  review.  Then,  with  the  work  of  the 
Opening  actually  done,  to  the  Porte  Rapp,  ‘  and  so  home,’  as 
good  Mr.  Pepys  would  have  expressed  it,  the  President  taking 
carriage  thence  to  the  Elysee,  the  procession  dissolving  into  its 
incongruous  elements  as  he  and  the  Princes  disappeared, 
and  the  spectacle  becoming  miscellaneous,  as  it  was  and  is  to 
remain  until  the  last  day,  October,  1878. 

“There!  I  have  told  you  the  story  of  the  Opening,  Not 
very  artistically,  and  not  too  connectedly  ;  as  how  could  I  ?  I 
did  not  and  could  not  see  everything  ;  and  I  am  not  an  artist, 
except  in  bones !  And  not  too  brilliantly,  as  again,  how 
could  I  ?  Iam  not  brilliant,  thank  all  the  powers  watching 
over  stupidity  !  I  have  simply  done  rvhat  one  of  your  own 
stories  represents  the  revivalist  Summerfield  as  having  done, 
when  set  to  curry  off  a  horse  by  some  one  who  thought  that 
he  was  a  hostler.  ‘  Perhaps  I  have  not  done  it  very  well, 
but  I  have  done  my  best  l'  I  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that 
I  have  finished  (and  finished  for  once  and  all,  as  you  do  not 
catch  me  at  it  again!)  while  you  have  yet  to  begin,  in  any 
attempt  at  describing  the  Exposition,  with  the  points  of 
special  interest  which  it  presents  to  the  world.  And  so 
descriptively  and  as  your  correspondent — Vale!" 


■VIII. 

THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED. 

Thanks  to  “Tommy,”  the  Opening  of  the  Exposition  has 
been  described  somewhat  at  length,  even  if  all  the  words  of 
this  peculiar  correspondent  have  failed  to  convey  many  of  the 
peculiarities  of  such  an  occasion,  which  may  be  said,  indeed, 
to  have  the  same  habit  of  escaping,  as  the  bubble  on  the  cham¬ 
pagne  before  it  reaches  the  lips,  or  any  subtle  aroma  when  the 
effort  is  made  to  examine  too  closely  into  its  character.  So 
much  done,  it  remains  for  the  Governor,  before  temporarily 
leaving  the  Exposition  Palaces  and  Paris,  to  express  his  opin¬ 
ion  of  the  whole  display  in  the  gross,  as  he  saw  it — leaving 
the  details  to  be  more  carefully  examined  at  a  later  point  in 
the  volume,  and  at  a  later  time  in  the  Exposition  itself,  when 
it  may  be  said  to  have  ripened  in  the  completeness  of  every 
point,  in  the  number  of  visitors  giving  it  attention,  and  in  the 
approach  of  those  “  awards  ”  for  which  the  whole  display  has 
quite  as  much  sprung  into  being  as  at  any  command  of  the 
artistic  or  the  manufacturing  instinct. 

Unquestionably  this  exhibition  has  been  deficient  in  many 
of  the  qualities  which  made  the  American  Centennial  one,  at 
Philadelphia,  so  extensive  and  so  perfect.  There  has  been  by 
no  means  so  general  a  showing  of  the  industries  of  all  nations. 
Germany,  as  already  said,  was  entirely  absent,  except  in  the 
pictures  forwarded  by  the  Emperor.  Turkey  (with  Egypt 
considered  as  a  part)  was  also  absent.  Some  of  the  other 
countries  by  no  means  showed  to  the  advantage  which  they 
held  in  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  ;  and  the  collection,  as  an 
international  one,  developing  the  resources  of  all  nations, 
could  not  be  considered  the  equal  either  of  that  at  Phila¬ 
delphia,  that  at  Vienna  in  1873,  or  that  in  the  same  spot  in 
1867.  But  in  particulars  it  as  far  exceeded  any  of  the  others 
as  it  fell  short  in  the  respect  named.  No  such  showing  of  the 
industry  and  resources  of  any  one  nation  has  ever  previously 


60 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


been  put  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  as  that  here  made  by 
France.  Her  wealth  in  pictures,  art,  sculptures,  jewelry, 
velvets,  silks,  furniture,  and  indeed  all  objects  of  luxury  in 
trade,  was  truly  bewildering  ;  and  if  nothing  else  was  shown 
than  this  single  exhibit,  the  attraction  would  have  been  well 
worth  crossing  the  ocean  to  behold.  With  the  advantage  of 
nearness,  all  the  cities  of  the  Republic  have  had  the  benefit 
of  special  places,  duly  named,  the  collective  industry  and 
wealth  thus  systematized  ;  and  in  the  Pavilion  of  the  City  of 
Paris  the  capital  city  has  enjoyed  exceptional  advantages,  not 
before  held  by  any  of  the  exhibition-cities,  yet  well  warranted 
by  her  world  of  attractions  for  the  public  eye.  Without 
intending  here  to  enter  into  any  particulars,  it  must  be  said 
that  the  single  collection  of  the  State  jewels  excelled  in 
brilliancy  almost  any  one  ever  before  made  in  the  history  of 
exhibitions.  France,  nobly  (as  well  as  wisely)  proved  that  in 
her  late  misfortunes  nothing  of  the  spirit  of  her  people,  and 
literally  nothing  of  her  immense  resources,  had  been  lost;  and 
in  thus  proving,  the  great  end  and  aitn  of  the  Exposition,  so 
far  as  she  felt  herself  concerned,  was  accomplished. 

England  made  a  most  extensive  and  splendid  display  in  all 
the  walks  of  commerce  and  art.  With  her,  too,  however, 
there  was  a  feature  dwarfing  all  other  single  characteristics. 
The  Prince  of  Wales,  already  at  length  spoken  of  by 
“  Tommy,”  as  President  of  the  English  Commission,  and  one 
of  the  great  promoters  of  the  enterprise,  had  on  view  the 
magnificent  collection  of  presents  made  to  him  in  1875,  in 
India;  and  in  this  wealth  of  gems  and  gold  literally  the  whole 
splendor  of  the  Orient  was  shown  at  one  ravishing  view.  In 
home  productions,  it  is  questionable  whether  England  has 
been  the  more  perfectly  at  her  best  in  machinery  or  in 
potteries.  Certainly  her  display  has  been  wondrously  varied 
in  both — the  one  seeming  to  be  of  this  new  “  iron  age,”  and 
the  other  fighting  with  the  far  past  of  Egypt.  Then  in  carpets 
she  has  shown  enough,  and  enough  of  excellence,  to  lay  a 
strip  for  the  luxury-loving  foot,  half  around  the  world.  Per" 
haps  after  this  detail,  the  most  notable  features  have  been 


THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED. 


Cl 


found  in  her  cloths  and  velvets  ;  and  next  after  these,  her 
furniture  and  upholstery.  There  may  be  occasion,  in  a  much 
later  paper,  to  deal  more  closely  with  some  of  the  English 
productions,  as  with  those  of  the  other  countries  promi¬ 
nently  represented. 

Germany  absent  and  France  already  mentioned,  Sweden 
and  Norway  came  nearest  to  England,  and  may  next  demand 
a  word.  And  in  that  word  let  it  be  said  that  if  they  surprised 
all  with  the  variety  of  their  work  in  iron  and  the  other  metals, 
in  woolen  and  other  textile  fabrics  at  Philadelphia,  they  have 
much  more  than  equalled  that  surprise  in  the  present  instance. 
Whatever  the  status  of  these  northern  countries,  not  many 
years  ago,  in  international  exhibitions,  it  is  sure  that  they 
have  taken  high  place  now,  and  can  hereafter  hold  it. 
Scarcely  the  same,  in  comparison,  can  be  said  of  Russia,  in 
whose  exhibit,  as  was  inevitable,  furs,  iron,  and  coarse  and 
heavy  fabrics  have  largely  predominated,  with  the  domestic 
arts  by  no  means  forgotten,  and  some  exhibits  of  the  finer 
manufactures,  showing  that  there  is  a  rivalry  with  the  more 
southern  countries  of  Europe,  even  on  the  banks  of  the 
Neva. 

As  all  visitors  to  the  Exposition  of  1867  will  remember, 
Austria  found  her  finest  representation  that  year  in  bronzes, 
goldsmiths’  work,  Bohemian  glass,  furniture  and  upholstery. 
Very  nearly  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  exhibit  of  1878,  in 
which,  perhaps,  as  much  progress  from  the  best  of  the  past 
has  been  shown,  as  by  any  other  country  in  the  whole  array. 
In  glassware,  especially,  and  scarcely  less  in  bronzes,  her 
position  has  been  deservedly  a  proud  one, — while  in  the  deco¬ 
rations  of  her  department  there  has  been  both  lavish  cost 
and  excellent  taste. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  Italy  has  made  a  splen¬ 
did  display  in  statuary,  bronzes,  mosaics  and  glass  ware. 
Nothing  more  bewildering  in  blended  profusion  and  excellence 
has  been  shown  at  any  exhibition,  than  the  marbles  of  this 
year,  of  some  of  which  a  New  York  lady  said  that  “  the  pro¬ 
hibition  against  worshipping  images  was  no  longer  in  force  ; 


62 


PARIS  IN  78. 


she  should  adore  idols,  when  made  from  Carrara  marble  by 
Italian  chisels,  henceforward,  and  all  the  canons  of  the  Church 
could  not  stop  her  !  ”  Scarcely  less  superb  has  been  her  dis¬ 
play  of  mosaics,  of  which  so  rare  a  collection  will  be  remem¬ 
bered  as  at  Philadelphia,  to  be  here  thrown  quite  into  the 
shade  in  variety  if  not  in  excellence.  Certainly  among  the 
very  best  honors  of  the  exhibition,  in  what  may  be  called  art- 
manufactures,  rest  with  the  realm  of  young  King  Humbert, 
who  may  well  take  the  appreciation  of  the  season  as  a  happy 
omen. 

We  have  crossed  the  Alps,  to  reach  Italy,  but  must  return 
at  least  partially  across  them  for  a  word  of  Switzerland,  among 
the  best  represented  of  the  list,  and  worthily  one  of  the  five 
countries  (England,  France,  Belgium,  Holland  and  Switzer¬ 
land)  for  the  display  of  the  goods  of  which  a  sharp  wit  said 
that  “  the  whole  affair  had  been  got  up,  with  some  of  the  other 
countries  as  foils.”  Zurich  has  rivalled  Lyons  with  her  velvets, 
tapestries  and  silk  goods  ;  Geneva  has  been  at  her  best,  in 
watches,  clocks,  musical  boxes,  and  all  the  peculiar  goods  of 
her  line;  and  she  has  shown  potteries,  laces,  and  a  variety  of 
other  goods  of  interest,  tempering  if  not  doing  away  with  the 
wood-carvings  in  which  she  will  probably  always  stand  pre¬ 
eminent  while  she  has  cold  winters,  and  deft-handed  poor 
peasants  S’hut  away  in  the  bleak  passes  of  her  mountains. 

Belgium  has  made  an  effective  display  in  machinery,  fire¬ 
arms  and  indeed  in  all  the  uses  and  products  of  iron, — though 
in  the  former  detail,  some  of  her  best  features  of  1867  have  not 
been  excelled  or  even  equalled.  Somewhat  oddly,  though 
naturally  for  “  Flanders,”  her  greatest  excellence  has  lain  in  a 
manufacture  the  farthest  opposite  possible — laces,  and  other 
fine  voods  more  or  less  connected.  In  laces,  as  no  other 
country  rivals  Belgium,  it  may  be  said  that  no  former  year  has 
rivalled  the  splendor  of  her  collection.  But  a  step  to  Holland, 
in  the  exhibit  of  which  as  much  difference  from  the  preceding 
has  been  shown,  as  if  a  continent  intervened.  More  home¬ 
like ;  more  closely  appealing  to  the  absolute  needs  of  every  day 
— the  exhibition  of  the  Low  Countries  would  be  sadly  defl- 


THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED. 


63 


cient  if  the  government  did  not  (with  a  propriety  which  some 
others  might  well  emulate)  supply  largely  from  its  own  re¬ 
sources,  and  especially  bring  into  view  the  continual  reminder 
that  there  are  Dutch  East  Indies,  and  that  they  have  a  world 
of  products  equally  odd  and  attractive. 

Something  of  the  same  character  may  be  said  of  Spain,  of 
which  the  collection,  exhibiting  much  marked  engineering 
skill,  and  some  manufactures  of  admitted  value,  has  still 
shown  nothing  else  so  attractive  to  the  eye  of  the  ordinary 
visitor,  as  some  of  the  features  derived  from  soil  in  the  tropics. 
This  gives  her  an  advantage,  at  once,  over  the  somewhat 
bald  exhibit  of  Portugal,  and  establishes  a  connection,  if  not 
a  rivalry,  with  the  exhibits  of  China  and  Japan,  of  which  it 
may  be  said  that  they  were  among  the  most  perfect  of  all  on 
view.  China,  in  the  shapes  and  colors  of  her  products,  solid 
and  textile,  has  literally  carried  the  luxury-loving  heart  cap¬ 
tive,  and  made  even  the  visiting  hoodlums  doubtful  whether 
it  might  be  well  to  murder  all  the  people  who  could  do  such 
work  as  even  the  wood-carving  of  her  department ;  and  Japan, 
in  bronze,  porcelain,  tapestry  and  several  other  details  than 
the  employment  of  her  traditional  varnishes,  has  shown 
Europe  and  America,  once  more,  that  “every  country,”  as 
well  as  “  every  man  to  his  trade,”  has  a  meaning  not  destroy¬ 
ed  even  if  dimmed,  by  late  progress. 

The  absence  of  Turkey  and  Egypt  has  been  already  noted, 
— the  burden  of  the  Orient,  remaining,  lying  literally  upon 
Persia,  which  showed  herself  quite  capable  of  bearing  it,  in 
shawls,  rugs,  carpets,  and  other  fabrics,  of  silk,  wool  and  cot¬ 
ton,  showing  the  warmth  of  her  sun  in  colors  and  the  cor¬ 
responding  warmth  of  the  taste  of  her  people.  It  need  not  be 
said  that  these  were  only  part  of  a  collection  really  very 
complete  though  in  small  space, — and  that  the  Persian 
decorations,  having  the  Shah  in  view,  were  very  rich  and 
elaborate.  Tunis,  Morocco,  and  some  others  of  the  quasi- 
Oriental  countries,  had  small  spaces,  very  near  to  Persia, 
and  collections  of  a  certain  interest,  though  little  marked 
or  worthy  of  special  mention. 


64 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Something  needs  to  be  said,  in  closing  this  very  hasty 
glance  at  countries  other  than  America,  of  some  of  the  other 
absences — some  of  them  nearly  as  conspicuous  as  were  the 
occasional  silences  of  Coleridge  or  Macaulay.  That  both  Tur¬ 
key  and  Egypt  should  be  missing  from  the  array  excited  lit¬ 
tle  wonder,  all  circumstances  considered  ;  but  why  Mexico, 
very  creditably  represented  at  Philadelphia — and  why  Brazil, 
so  prominent  there  and  with  the  personal  presence  of  the  Em- 
porer,  and  his  after  progress  through  Europe,  evidencing 
that  there  was  no  lack  of  either  power  or  will  to  go  “  before  the 
world  ?  ” — and  why,  with  Canada,  as  one  of  the  British 
Provinces,  making  a  very  fine  display,  even  if  not  equal  to 
that  at  Philadelphia  —why  the  absence  of  so  many  of  the  other 
colonies  waved  over  by  the  British  flag,  and  with  so  much  to 
do  and  so  much  already  done  in  sharing  the  labor-produc¬ 
tion  and  the  labor-market  of  the  world  ?  These  questions 
must  answer  themselves,  however,  as  they  were  obliged  to  do 
many  times  during  the  season  ;  and  we  must  pass  to  a 
few  words  of  the  collective  art-status  of  the  Exposition. 

In  this  important  detail  the  aggregate  collection,  very  much 
larger  than  that  at  Philadelphia,  and  also  very  much  larger 
than  that  at  Paris  in  1867,  has  been  better  than  the  Cen¬ 
tennial  show,  and  yet  very  far  removed  from  the  great  excel¬ 
lence  of  the  Parisian  one  of  the  latter  year.  The  extensive 
galleries  may  be  said  to  have  been  well  filled  throughout ;  and 
there  have  been  very  few  pictures  to  which  the  most  captious 
could  object ;  but  in  great  works,  the  feeling  has  been  uni¬ 
versal,  alike  in  going  through  the  first  gallery  and  leaving  the 
last — that  they  were  missing:  that  the  different  countries  had 
fallen  back  in  the  scale  of  their  productions,  or  that  they  had 
grown  a  little  treed  of  sending  their  very  best.  This  6f  pictures 
only,  be  it  understood  ;  in  antique  arts,  of  a  certain  class,  this 
exhibition  has  been  beyond  all  others:  the  eye  of  man  has 
never  before  looked,  in  any  one  spot,  on  so  glorious  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  Gobelin  and  other  tapestries,  as  that  shown  in  the 
Trocadero  Palace  ;  and  in  many  other  walks  of  antiquity  pure 
and  simple,  yet  related  to  art,  the  Trocadero  has  also  held  a 
wondrous  collection  in  both  curiosity  and  value. 


THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED. 


65 


America  still  for  the  moment  out  of  the  calculation,  the 
exercise  of  the  comparative  faculty,  however  ungracious,  must 
be  allowed.  The  temptation  is  irresistible,  to  extract  a  page 
or  two  from  a  work  of  the  close  of  1867,  showing  a  few  of  the 
leading  pictures  on  the  walls  of  that  great  circle  which  so  many 
trod  wearily  but  with  undying  interest ;  and  in  the  light  thus 
afforded,  perhaps  a  more  intelligent  view  can  be  caught,  than 
otherwise,  of  the  corresponding  works  of  ’78: 

It  has.  been  no  ordinary  privilege  to  look  up  in  succession  to  walls 
bearing  pieces  presented  as  worthy  the  status  of  reputation,  by  such  artists 
as ^  French — Rosa  Bonheur  (“Scottish  Razzia,”  “Stags,”  &c.)  ;  Meis- 
sonnier  (“Expectations,”  ‘‘The  Emperor  at  Solferino,”  “Campaign  of 
France,”  “  Cavalier  Drinking,”  &c. )  ;  Winterhalter  (originals  of  the  famous 
“Napoleon  III.  ’  and  “  Eugenie  ”)  ;  Cabanel  (“  Birth  of  Venus,”  “Nymph 
and  Fawn,”  &c.)  ;  Gerome  (“The  Gladiators,  ”  “Duel  after  the  Masque¬ 
rade,”  “  Phryne  before  the  Tribunal,”  “Death  of  Caesar,”  &c.)  ;  Rousseau 
(“  Pass  of  Apremont,”  “  Autumn,”  “  Evening  after  the  Rain,”  &c.)  ;  Bouge- 
reau  ;  Corot  (“Witches  in  Macbeth,”  “Ruins  of  Pierrefonds,”  &c. )  ; 
Lambinet  (“Banks  of  the  Ivette  ”)  ;  D'Aubigny  (“Valley”  and  “Village 
of  Opteros,”  “Banks  of  the  Oise,”&c.);  Iluet  (“Equinoctial  Tide  at 
Honfleur,”  “Groves  of  Normandy,”  ‘  Wood  of  La  Kaye,”  &cD  ;  Merle  ; 
Courbet;  Comte  Calix  (“The  Old  Friend”)  ;  Yvon  (“Taking  of  the 
Malakoff” — Versailles  Gallery,  and  “Convoy  of  Wounded”)  ;  Plassan  ; 
and  August  Bonheur  (“Souvenirs  of  the  Pyrenees”  and  “Auvergne”). 
By  German  —  Knaus  (“Shoemaker’s  Wife,”  “Peasant  Girl,”  “Boy 
Shoemakers,”  &c.)  ;  Baron  Leys  (“Lancelot  von  Ursel,”  “Archduke 
Charles,”  “  Publication  of  Edict  in  Antwerp, ”  “Conference  in  the  Refor¬ 
mation,  ’  &c.  — principally  from  his  great  frescoes  at  Antwerp)  ;  Andreas 
and  Oswald  Achenbach  (“Amsterdam”  and  “Port  of  Ostend,”  and 
“  Rocca  de  Papa”)  ;  Kaulbach  (colossal  picture  of  the  “Reformation” 
and  Portraits);  Piloty  (“Death  of  Caesar,’  “Before  Weissenberg, ” 
“Godfrey  de  Bouillon,”  &c.'  ;  Sigismund  L’Allemand  ;  Matejieko  (“Diet 
of  Warsaw  ”)  ;  Baugniet  ;  Tschaggeny  ;  Stevens  and  Willems  (“Visit  of 
Marie  de  Medecis  to  Rubens,”  “  The  Armourer,”  “The  Adieux,”  &c.) 
By  Italian — Induno  (“Letter  from  the  Camp”);  Hayez  (“  Massacre  of 
St,  Bartholomew”);  Gastaldi  (“Defense  of  Tortona  ”)  ;  the  Gambas 
(“Victor  Amadeus  succoring  Carmagnola,”  and  “Beach  at  Cheve- 
ningen  ”).  B y  Dutch  —  Von  Schendel  (“Christmas  Night,”  “Holy 
Family,”  •  ‘  Dutch  Market  at  Night,”  “Angel  Gabriel  ”  and  “  Virgin,  ”  &c. )  ; 


PARIS  IN  78. 


6(5 

Meyer(“Coast  of  France,”  Coast  of  England,  &c. )  ;  and  Haas(“Plains 
in  Holland,”  “  Before  the  Storm,”  &c.).  By  Spanish — -Alvarez  (“Indul¬ 
gences  ”)  ;  Gilbert  (“Landing of  the  Pilgrims  ” — American — “  Meeting  of 
Francis  I.  and  Eleanor  of  Austria,”  Portraits,  &c.)  ;  and  Ruiperez  ( genre 
pieces).  By  Swedish — Hoeckert  (“Fire  in  the  Palace  of  Stockholm  ”)  ; 
and  Jernberg  (“Bear  at  the  Fair,”  “Westphalian  Costumes,”  &c.).  By 
Russian — Bogoliouboff  (“Naval  Combat,”  “Bombardment  of  Petropau- 
lowsky,”  &c. )  ;  Clodt  (Landscapes)  ;  and  Proff  Village  Funeral”  and 
“First  Uniform”).  And  by  English  —  Faed  (“His  only  Pair”); 
Frith  (“Claude  Duval  ’  — not  equal  to  either  his  “  Derby  Day”  or  “Rail¬ 
way  Station”)  ;  Landseer  (“Shrew  Tamed”)  ;  Calderon  (“Her  Most 
Noble,  High  and  Puissant  Grace”);  Hunt  (“Afterglow  in  Egypt”); 
Ansdell  (“Treading  out  the  Corn  ’ )  ;  Millias  (“Eve  of  St.  Agnes,”  and 
“  Romans  Leaving  Britain ”);  Davis  (“Spring  Time  in  the  Pas  de  Calais”); 
O’Neill  (“Eastward,  Ho!”)  ;  and  Sant  (“The  Fir.-t  Sense  of  Sorrow.”) 

To  this  must  be  added,  as  the  addition  cannot  otherwise 
come  so  well  in  place,  a  selection,  made  from  the  same  work, 
of  thirty-six  out  of  seventy-five  oil  paintings  exhibited  by 
American  painters  in  1867  : 

Beard’s  “Dancing  Bears”;  Bierstadt’s  “Rocky  Mountains”;  Casilear’s 
“Plains  of  Genesee”;  Church’s  “Niagara”  and  “Rainy  Season  in  the 
Tropics”;  Durand’s  “In  the  Wood  ’;  Elliott’s  “Fletcher  Harper’  ;  Gig- 
noux’s  ‘  Mount  Washington  ”;  Henry  Peters  Grey's  “  Apple  of  Discord  ”; 
Hubbard’s  “  Adirondacks  ”;  Huntingdon’s  “  Republican  Court  ”;  Eastman 
Johnson’s  “  Old  Kentucky  Home,”  “Violin  Player”  and  ‘  ■  Sunday  Morning  ”; 
Kensett’s  “  Lake  George  in  Autumn,”  “  Opening  in  the  White  Mountains  ” 
and  “Morning  on  the  Coast  of  Massachusetts”;  Leutze’s  “Mary  Stuart 
Hearing  Mass  ”;  Wier’s  “  Gun  Foundry  ”;  Edmund  White’s  “  Recollections 
of  Siberia  ”;  MacEntee’s  “  End  of  October  ”  and  “  Autumn  in  the  Woods  of 
Asshokan”;  Mignot’s  “Sources  of  the  Susquehanna”;  James  M.  Hart’s 
“Connecticut  River”;  Gifford's  “Twilight  on  Mount  Hunter”;  Ilealy's 
“General  Sherman”;  Winslow  Homer’s  “Confederate  Prisoners”;  W.  M. 
Hunt’s  “Indian  Boys”;  Geo.  Inness’  “Sunset  in  America”;  Lambdin’s 
“Last  Sleep”;  May’s  “Lear  and  Cordelia  ’;  Moran’s  “Autumn  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania”;  W.  T.  Richards’  “Foggy  Day  at  Nantucket  ”;  Whittridge’s 
“Coast  of  Rhode  Island”;  and  George  A.  Baker’s  two  “  Portraits.” 

This  somewhat  long  reminiscence  must  end  here;  and  this 
paper  must  close  with  a  few  words  of  the  American  exhibit 


THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED 


67 


of  1878,  merely  grouped  as  a  whole,  and  leaving  all  particulars 
for  concluding  papers,  later  on  in  this  volume  as  well  as  in  the 
season. 

The  position  of  America,  in  this  exhibition,  has  been  some¬ 
thing  anomalous;  and  the  peculiarities  of  anomalies  are  by  no 
means  easy  to  describe.  Never  before  has  the  nation  won 
more  honors,  pitted  against  the  world  ;  never  before,  probably, 
has  she  better  deserved  all  the  honors  won  ;  and  yet  never 
before,  in  any  international  show  enlisting  her  participation, 
has  there  been  a  more  constant  succession  of  remembrances 
of  better  things  before.  In  nearly  every  department,  while  nearly 
every  department  has  shown  much  excellence,  there  has  been 
an  absence  of  some  of  the  grander  features  which  made  so 
much  of  our  celebrity  in  former  exhibitions.  The  want  of  the 
Grant  Locomotive,  which  supplied  our  crowning  triumph  in 
1867,  and  of  both  Steinway’s  and  Chickering’s  pianos,  always 
and  everywhere  themes  of  pride  and  congratulation,  may  be 
noted  as  leading  instances  in  point. 

But  in  other  departments,  and  sometimes  in  the  same  show¬ 
ing  those  absences,  we  have  been  exceptionally  strong  and 
occasionally  brilliant.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that,  the  special 
triumph  of  Edison,  the  event  of  the  year,  out  of  the  way — 
we  have  surprised  Europe  and  the  world,  most  of  all  with  our 
school  and  school-book  systems  and  appliances,  in  which 
certainly  no  former  exhibition  could  for  one  moment  compare 
with  the  number  and  variety  contributed  from  the  different 
States,  by  those  States  themselves,  by  colleges,  schools,  and 
every  form  of  educational  institution.  Next  to  this,  unquestion¬ 
ably  comes  the  immense  variety  and  great  excellence  of  our 
labor-saving  machinery,  agricultural  and  mechanical,  in  which 
we  have  stood  even  more  assuredly  at  the  head  of  all  the  nations 
of  the  world  in  their  regard  than  at  any  previous  period, 
though  really  holding  the  same  position  during  the  last  dozen 
years.  (This  year,  for  the  first,  the  public  papers,  even  of 
England,  have  gracefully  admitted  the  fact ;  and  this  constitutes 
an  actual  bestowment  of  the  “blue  ribbon,”  remembering  the 
source  of  the  compliment.) 


G8 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


In  watches,  plated  ware,  and  cognate  manufactures,  though 
with  very  few  exhibits,  we  have  quite  as  unquestionably  taken 
our  place  at  the  head,  even  if  we  did  not  secure  the  same  ac¬ 
knowledgment  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition.  In  fire-arms  we 
have  stood  among  the  first,  if  even  matched  by  England, 
France  or  Belgium.  In  sewing-machines  we  have  held  much 
less  prominence  than  in  1867,  at  the  same  time  that  we  have 
shown  some  of  the  very  best  of  any  country  or  age.  In  musi¬ 
cal  instruments,  while  weak  in  the  number  of  exhibitors,  we 
have  held  excellent  place  as  to  variety  and  character.  In 
books  we  have  been  especially  strong,  some  of  our  leading 
book-makers  having  taken  part,  though  others  not  less  worthy 
have  held  back  and  seriously  impaired  the  “might  have  been.” 
So  of  furniture,  of  which  we  manufacture  some  of  the  best  in 
the  world,  but  have  shown  very  little  in  comparison  with  our 
opportunities.  And  so  of  textile  fabrics,  cloths,  domestics, 
carpets,  &c.,  in  which  the  world  has  at  last  come  to  know  that 
we  have  few  or  no  superiors,  but  of  which  our  display  has 
blended  the  excellent  and  the  meagre.  In  photographs  we 
have  exhibited  much  excellence,  though  again  with  the  ab¬ 
sence  of  several  who  should  have  borne  a  full  share  of  the 
honors,  and  with  a  notable  lack  of  the  glorious  scenery-pho¬ 
tographs  which  could  have  astonished  the  world.  In  physical 
manufactures  and  appliances  we,  who  have  so  many  command¬ 
ing  applause  and  ameliorating  the  human  condition,  have 
shown  some  other  collections  at  least  worthy  of  notice,  but 
principally  depended  upon  our  unequalled  display  of  dentists' 
work,  as  if  our  whole  life  was  gastronomic.  (This  does  not 
apply,  however,  if  the  splendid  humanitarian  collection  of  Dr. 
Evans,  of  Paris — really  American — is  taken  into  the  account.) 

This  list  is  not  intended  to  be  a  complete  one,  and  it  is  not 
so.  We  have  not  dealt  with  names,  reserving  that  task  for  a 
later  paper.  Edison,  as  the  meteor  of  the  time,  who  may  yet 
become  a  fixed  star,  has  been  mentioned:  so  let  Pullman  and 
Stephenson  be,  with  their  differing  “cars”  which  are  rea.lly 
“palaces;”  and  let  us  say  that  with  them,  and  Fairbanks' 
scales,  and  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  locomotives,  and  the 


THE  EXPOSITION  THAT  WAS  OPENED. 


69 


wines  and  grains  of  our  North  and  West,  and  the  mineral 
treasures  of  the  Pacific  coast,  we  may  almost  pardon  the 
absence  of  many  things  that  should  have  been  on  view  — 
some  of  our  very  creditable  ceramics  not  among  the  least 
important. 

Our  collections,  in  a  word,  have  been  by  no  means  complete, 
even  as  this  hasty  resume  makes  no  pretence  at  embracing 
the  whole  subject,  with  other  and  more  extended  examinations 
in  view.  Of  our  art  it  only  remains  to  say  that  we  have 
carried  out  the  remarks  already  made  of  other  nations,  and  if 
we  have  done  well,  by  no  means  done  our  best.  It  is  of  the  first 
consequence,  however,  to  know  that  our  display,  in  literally 
all  the  departments,  has  been  received  by  the  world  with 
respect,  and  in  many  of  them  with  applause.  Thanks,  no 
doubt,  to  an  exceptionally  good  management  on  the  part  of 
Commissioner-General  McCormick  and  his  assistants,  we  have 
held,  throughout,  quite  the  place  to  which  we  were  entitled, 
and  borne  away  quite  as  many  honors  as  we  deserved,  even  if 
here  and  there  a  “  miss”  has  been  scored  where  a  “  hit  ”  was 
nobly  played  for,  and  vice  versa. 

And  now,  to  leave  the  Exposition  for  a  brief  period,  after 
the  hastiest  of  glimpses  at  the  Paris  of  1878.  And  alter  that 
period,  revenons  a  nos  vioutons  expositionaires,  with  intention 
not  again  to  abandon  those  interesting  bucolic  animals 
until  the  theme  which  deals  with  them,  if  not  the  animals 
themselves,  shall  be  thoroughly  exhausted. 


PARIS  MEDAL  OF  1878. 


IX. 

PARIS  OF  >8  AND  PARIS  OF  THE  PAST. 

“  Our  Boy  Tommy  ”  says,  in  one  of  the  previous  papers, 
describing  the  opening  of  the  Exposition,  that  “  Paris  was 
never  lovelier  than  it  is  to-day,”  at  the  same  time  that  he  shows 
the  absence  of  any  undue  bias  in  its  favor,  by  stating  that  “  he 
does  not  like  Paris,  nowadays,”  because  “  it  is  not  the  Paris 
of  the  old  time — whether  better  or  worse.”  He  is  quite  right 
in  both  statements,  which  merely  express  two  facts  from  dif¬ 
ferent  points  of  view.  Paris  has  never  been  more  truly  beauti¬ 
ful,  as  a  city,  than  during  the  summer  of  1878;  and  at  the  same 
time  the  changes  in  it  have  made  it  as  different  from  the  Paris 
of  1867,  in  [many  regards,  as  if  it  had  been  torn  down  and 
rebuilt. 

As  to  the  question  of  beauty.  The  scars  of  the  great  trouble 
have  by  no  means  been  effaced  from  the  “  fair  city,”  but  most 
o-f  them  have  been  so  carefully  dealt  with  that  they  have 
scarcely  remained  a  deformity.  The  pettily-grand  old  Tuilleries 
have  not  been  replaced,  nor  has  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  nor  the 
Palace  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  In  the  lack  of  those  three 
buildings,  and  the  damage  of  several  others,  the  resources  of 
visitors  have  necessarily  been  narrowed  ;  but  nature  is  kindly; 
and  foliage  softens  destruction  when  it  cannot  hide  it,  and  thus 
few  of  the  views  in  the  city  have  been  materially  damaged.  So 
of  most  of  the  injury  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  where  the 
accustomed  eye  might  see,  this  summer,  the  lowering  of  altitude 
of  the  trees,  with  only  a  few  years  of  growth  to  repair  the  loss 
of  the  old  monarchs, — but  where  the  ordinary  visitor  needed 
to  be  told  the  late  damages  of  that  matchless  pleasure-ground. 
Not  so  of  St.  Cloud,  however,  where  the  scar  is  ineffaceable, 
and  where  the  beauty  of  what  was  one  of  the  noblest  palaces 
and  finest  demesnes  of  France,  passed  away  for  all  time  when 
the  flames  licked  up  their  glories. 


PARIS  OF  THE  PAS1 


71 


Within  the  city  proper  the  question  of  comparative  beauty 
of  the  two  periods  needs  much  more  than  a  word.  There  has 
been  much  less  of  disturbance  of  the  existing  order  of  things 
than  there  was  in  1867,  or  in  any  other  of  the  late  years  of  the 
Empire.  Paris  was  being  “  improved,”  during  all  those  years  ; 
and  the  improvement,  however  tending  to  eventual  beauty 
and  convenience,  was  rather  an  eyesore  during  its  progress. 
The  employes  of  the  “  Bureau  de  Demolition,”  who  were 
taking  down  row  after  row  of  houses  to  make  place  for  one 
and  another  of  Baron  Haussman’s  new  boulevards — they  wore 
clothes  supposably  indifferent  to  lime  dust,  and  brazen  helmets 
that  made  strangers  often  mistake  them  for  some  arm  of  the 
military  service,  expecting  severe  cuts  with  the  cavalry  broad¬ 
sword  over  the  caput.  So  that  a  falling  beam  or  two  might 
knock  them  down,  but  was  not  likely  to  beat  out  their  brains  ; 
and  a  down-pour  or  an  out-pour  of  lime  dust  could  not  injure 
their  sartorial  adornments  to  any  extent.  But  such  was  not 
the  case  with  the  average  visitor,  who  probably  emulated  auld 
Sandy  Jemmings  in  “  wearin’  his  guid  claes  while  he  was  awa 
frae  hame  and  where  naebody  kenned  him  ava.” 

The  falling  of  a  beam  was  at  least  to  be  avoided  by  that  very 
numerous  class  in  1867,  and  all  the  years  close  on  either  side 
of  it ;  and  the  gusts  of  lime  dust  were  equally  to  be  eschewed 
by  those  who  did  not  carry  about  pocket-whisks  for  brushing 
at  every  corner.  The  occasional  discomfort  of  all  this  may  be 
readily  understood  ;  and  added  to  it  was  the  unsightliness  of 
a  gap  in  some  noble  street  fagade,  suggesting  a  town  of  out- 
West  just  being  built,  instead  of  the  metropolis  of  the  world 
undergoing  a  mild  renovation. 

Well,  the  London  newspaper  already  quoted  (in  III.)  was 
right  in  the  prophecy  that  “the  mantle  of  M.  Haussman 
would  fall  on  no  man  s  shoulders.”  It  did  not  so  fall,  and  con¬ 
sequently  the  “dust”  that  he  “  raised,”  in  the  most  emphatic 
sense,  also  refrained  from  falling  on  the  shoulders  and  the 
other  parts  of  the  visiting  body.  Paris  looked,  in  1878,  much 
more  like  a  finished  city  of  the  blended  sixteenth  and  nine¬ 
teenth  centuries,  and  much  less  like  a  half-completed  after- 


72 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


thought,  than  at  any  late  previous  period.  Indefinably,  too,  the 
additional  dependence  tor  some  years  made  on  the  influx  of 
ioreigners,  for  the  very  possibility  of  reasonable  prosperity  in 
the  midst  of  the  national  loss,  has  done  more  than  a  little  to 
induce  the  moderating  of  local  specialties — always  an  advantage 
in  comfort  and  convenience,  however  damaging  to  the  pictur¬ 
esque  features  of  the  aspect. 

Meanwhile,  transit  in  the  city  has  been  materially  better  than 
it  was  in  1867.  The  tramways  and  other  regular  lines  of  com¬ 
munication  have  been  in  better  working  order,  as  well  as  more 
numerous  and  extensive.  Not  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
coal-wagons  and  bakers’-carts  have  been  pressed  into  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  conveying  passengers  to  the  Exposition  ;  and  that 
change  has  been  rather  a  benefit  than  a  bereavement.  There 
have  been  more  and  better  boats  on  the  Seine,  than  at  the 
former  gathering  ;  and  for  the  hot  weather  of  July  and  August 
that  boon  has  been  one  of  no  secondary  consequence  to  a  large 
number.  These  ameliorations  may  be  said  almost  to  have 
offset  the  marked  and  unfavorable  difference  between  the  two 
years  in  accommodation  for  visitors — the  added  extortion  of 
1878  fairly  rivalling  that  of  Vienna  in  1873,  with  either  no 
power  or  no  will  on  the  part  of  the  government  or  the  muni¬ 
cipality,  to  mitigate  the  evil,  as  was  so  thoroughly  done,  though 
late,  by  the  Austrian  authorities  in  the  last-named  year.  Let 
it  not  be  understood  that  there  have  been  no  good  hotels,  or 
even  reasonable  ones  in  demand,  during  the  season.  There 
have  been,  and  so  have  there  been  pleasant  private  hotels  and 
pensions;  but  the  conscienceless  and  the  grasping  have  been 
too  much  the  rule;  and,  as  “the  greater  contains  the  less,’, 
according  to  an  old  mathematical  axiom,  Paris,  as  a  whole,  has 
suffered  in  the  detail  of  comfort  and  pleasantness,  by  the  mere 
fact  of  “  containing  ”  a  certain  large  number  of  the  grasping 
and  unconscionable. 

In  amusements  Paris  has  not  equalled,  on  this  later  occa¬ 
sion,  the  display  of  1867.  About  the  same  number  of  theatres, 
and  nearl)'  the  same  in  identity,  have  been  open  throughout  the 
Exposition,  with  less  effort  evident,  however,  to  supply 


PARIS  OF  THE  PAST. 


73 


attractions  commensurate  with  the  expected  attendance. 
The  great  Music  Hall,  Theatre,  or  “Salle  des  Fetes,”  of  the 
Trocadero  Palace,  has  of  course  supplied  another  magnificent- 
place  of  musical  resort,  scarcely  second  to  any  other  in  the 
world  ;  and  many  musical  events  of  interest  for  the  moment, 
have  taken  place  there.  Also,  the  Grand  Opera  House  has  been 
reasonably  well  occupied  and  supported,  though  only  one  abso¬ 
lute  sensation  has  been  experienced  there — in  the  production  of 
Gounod’s  “  Polyeucte,”  which  took  place  so  late  as  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  October,  with  at  least  a  fair  success,  though 
adding  no  laurels  to  the  brow  of  the  composer  of  “  Faust.” 
Taken  all  in  all,  it  may  be  said  that  in  1878  Paris  has  offered 
less  for  the  money  (to  use  an  expressive  colloquialism)  than  in 
1867  ;  and  to  account  for  this,  some  of  the  succeeding  con¬ 
siderations  may  come  well  in  place. 

Paris  was,  and  always  has  been,  at  least  in  our  day,  “  nothing 
if  not  luxurious.”  “Vive  la  bagatelle ”  has  belonged  to  her, 
quite  as  appropriately  as  it  would  have  been  inappropriately 
plastered  on  the  wall  of  the  Tower  of  London  or  the  front  of 
the  Boston  Old  South.  Her  people  looked  it  as  well  as  acted 
it,  in  that  old  time  so  very  near  ;  and  in  so  looking  and  acting 
they  seemed  part  of  the  scene  and  belonging  to  it.  But  they 
have  changed  materially.  They  have  not  forgotten,  even  in 
years  of  renewed  prosperity,  the  long  faces  that  they  pulled 
when  the  German  cannon  were  thundering  all  around  them 
during  that  terrible  winter  of  1870-71.  (“  Tommy,”  in  a  private 

note,  not  here  to  be  given,  suggests  that  they  have  dieted  too 
much  on  horse-meat,  to  be  the  same  men  who  were  alternately 
fierce  and  poetical,  but  always  polite  and  with  a  certain  tinge 
of  softness,  on  the  flesh  of  the  cow  and  the  bullock  !)  Cer¬ 
tainly  they  have  lost,  as  a  collective  people,  much  of  that  char¬ 
acteristic  which  can  be  best  named  as  brightness,  which  made 
them  so  generally  intensely  amusing,  often  specially  pleasant, 
and  always  worth  study.  They  have  become  unpleasantly  real, 
instead  of  picturesquely  and  prettily  theatrical.  They  have 
proved  themselves,  during  the  summer,  capable  of  a  cabman’s 
strike,  and  awakened  suspicions  that  they  might  have  been 


74 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


fully  equal,  under  favorable  conditions,  to  a  “strike”  of  the 
English-mill-character — dogged,  persistent,  even  bloody  for  a 
principle,  or  in  pursuance  of  a  collective  whim. 

That  infusion  of  the  blood  of  the  Quartier  Latin,  through¬ 
out  the  whole  of  Paris  and  far  into  the  suburbs,  which  was  so 
evident  a  dozen  years  ago,  is  to  be  found  no  more,  or  only 
found  under  much  less  reputable  conditions,  depriving  it  of 
its  pleasantness  and  making  it  unfragrant  for  study.  Henri 
Murger  could  not  write,  now,  were  he  alive,  another  “  Vie  de 
Boheme,”  without  drawing  from  the  past  instead  of  the  pres¬ 
ent.  If  Rodolphe,  and  Marcel,  and  Schaunard,  still  exist,  and 
still  make  their  habitat  in  the  Quartier  Latin,  there  is  reason 
to  fear  that  they  are  students  no  longer — much  more  possibly 
chiffoniers,  or,  at  the  best,  drivers  of  fiacres.  And  if  one  is  to 
look  for  Mimi  or  Musette,  sad  to  think  that  they  are  proba¬ 
bly  no  longer  wearers  ol  the  modest  gray  of  the  grisette,  but 
the  flaunting  colors  of  the  cocotte.  Not  a  year  of  the  old  city 
lately  so  sorely  stricken,  and  to-day  so  defiant,  could  evolve 
the  true  merriment  of  one  of  these  wondrous  evenings  so  in¬ 
imitably  told  of  by  Murger  or  Beranger. 

And  this  brings,  naturally,  suggestions  of  a  change  in  that 
pleasant  “  unholy  -of  unholies,”  the  outside  appearance  of 
which  “Tommy”  did  not  know  when  viewing  it  from  the  Ex¬ 
position  buildings — the  Jardin  Mabille.  What  a  place  it  was, 
in  the  days  when  the  Governor  first  saw  it,  now  somewhat 
more  than  a  dozen  years  ago,  when  the  splendor  of  the  Empire 
was  undimmed  and  all  Paris  lay  under  the  blaze.  And  after, 
in  the  1867  days,  when  the  Captain  and  Anna  Maria,  and  young 
Hawesby  accompanied  him  there,  and  Fifine  and  Gros  Jean  were 
among  the  terpsichorean  lights,  and  the  young  lady  from 
America  advised  her  newly  arrived  acquaintances  by  no  means 
to  go  there,  because,  “if  they  did,  they  would  want  to  go 
again  !”  I  f  there  was  any  “  glory  ”  about  it,  it  has  unquestion¬ 
ably  depreciated,  as  the  gilt  is  very  apt  to  rub  away  from  nearly 
everything  less  substantial  and  valuable  than  solid  metal.  It  is 
not  that  the  Governor  is  older,  and  that  he  has  (merely  as  a 
spectator,  not  as  a  terpsichorean  ora  posturist)  visited  Mabille 


PARIS  OF  THE  PAST. 


75 


so  often  as  to  have  lost  the  sense  of  any  refreshing  novelty  in 
it,  that  he  marks  and  records  this  declension.  Others  than  he 
have  seen  it,  and  noted  it  with  reference  to  this  very  season  of 
1878,  and  in  comparison  with  the  year  of  the  former  Exposi¬ 
tion. 

Says  that  popular  magazinist,  George  Augustus  Sala,  in  an 
August  letter  in  the  London  Telegraph : 

“  I  was  at  the  Jardin  Mabille  in  August,  1867.  The  crowd 
was  as  dense  as  that  which  crowded  the  Gardens  last  Thurs¬ 
day,  but  what  a  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  company! 
The  most  sumptuous  costumes  that  Worth  could  furnish,  the 
costliest  boquets  that  Lady  Hocquet  could  build— Valenciennes 
lace,  poult  de  sole,  cashmeres  and  diamonds — the  greatest  dan¬ 
dies  from  the  clubs,  millionnaires  from  Brazil,  from  Mexico,  and 
from  California,  English  peers  and  Members  of  Parliament, 
Senators,  Deputies,  diplomatists,  bankers,  notaries,  adven¬ 
turers — all  the  Coras,  the  Theodoras,  the  Delphines,  the  Faus- 
tines,  the  Messalines,  if  you  will,  of  this  sparkling,  profligate 
city.  For  hundreds  of  yards  outside  the  Gardens  the  roadway 
was  choked  with  splendid  private  equipages.  Grooms  and 
commissionaires  ran  hither  and  thither  ;  serjents  de  ville  shouted 
in  strident  tones  as  M.  le  Marquis  de  Poule  Mouille  drove  off 
in  his  tilbury  to  play  baccarat  at  the  club  ;  or  as  the  sly  little 
coupe  of  his  Excellency  Eugene  Rougeon  drew  up  to  convey 
his  Excellency  and  Sarah  la  Sournoise — she  who  extracted 
half  a  million  from  the  Eujaxiean  Envoy— to  supper  in  a  cabinet 
at  the  Maison  Doree.  Inside  the  Jardin  Mabille  how  many 
brindisis,  how  much  smoking  of  cigarettes  and  flashing  of  gems, 
and  changing  of  bright  louis  and  crisp  notes  of  the  Bank  of 
F ranee !  *  * 

“  Where  are  you,  the  Princesses,  now  ?  Married  and  settled, 
emigrated,  in  the  hospital  at  St.  Lazare,  or  dead.  It  is  only  the 
poor  relations  of  Cora  and  Faustinaand  Theodora,  of  Diane  la 
Drolesse  and  Sarah  Sournoise,  that  I  seem  to  see  at  Mabille  this 
Thursday  night.  *  *  Where  are  the  moires ,  the  gros  de 

Naples ,  the  poults  de  soie,  the  velvets,  the  satins,  the  cashmeres 
and  lace  shawls,  the  brocades  and  the  jewels,  the  feathers  and 


76 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


the  flowers  of  price?  A  poor  lot  of  painted  women,  ranging 
between  sixteen  and  sixty  years  of  age,  paraded  the  circumfer¬ 
ence  of  the  dancing  platform  with  wondrously  watchful  eyes, 
despite  their  jaded  and  wearied  mien.  *  *  The  dancing 

is  a  mere  hollow  imposture.  *  * 

“  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  entertainment  for  which  we 
had  paid  five  francs  a  head,  would  have  been  dear  at  fifty  cen¬ 
times,  or  five-pence-halfpenny.  There  was  plenty  of  gas,  to  be 
sure  ;  but  that  and  the  whited  sepulchres  I  can  see  on  the 
boulevards  any  night  for  nothing  *  *  The  whited 

sepulchres  are  presumably  on  the  free  list ;  and  the  multitude, 
apart  from  a  proportion  of  middle-class  Englishmen  and  Ger¬ 
mans,  are  mostly  composed  of  poor  little  whipper-snappers  in 
billicock  hats  and  slop-shop  clothes,  to  any  one  of  whom,  to 
all  seeming,  it  would  have  been  an  act  of  charity  to  give  a  cou¬ 
ple  of  francs  to  get  some  supper  withal.” 

This  is  the  report  of  Mabille  in  the  Summer  of  1878,  by  a 
very  close  observer.  What  does  it  mean  ?  For  answer,  the 
Governor  will  go  farther  than  that  oft-quoted  person  who  said 
that,  “  if  he  might  make  the  ballads  of  a  nation,  he  cared  not 
who  made  the  laws.”  He  will  say  that  a  glance  at  the  favorite 
amusements  of  any  people,  or  section  of  people,  tells  as  much 
of  their  relative  position  at  onetime  and  another,  as  any  blue- 
book  that  can  be  manufactured  in  the  interests  of  the  State. 
And  Mabille  tells,  quite  as  wrcll  as  any  more  reputable  place  of 
resort  can  do,  that  the  Parisian  Frenchman  of  1878  is  not  the 
Parisian  Frenchman  who  existed  in  1867 — whether  he  is  better 
or  worse  ;  whether  richer  or  poorer  ;  whether  changed  by  the 
substitution  of  a  Republic  not  appreciated  for  an  Empire 
equally  understood,  liked,  and  feared — or  merely  not  yet 
recovered  from  the  blow  which  temporarily  ruined  him  and 
momentarily  made  another  and  hated  nation  his  master. 

Surely  “  Tommy  ”  was  correct  in  the  statement,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  correctness  of  his  deduction,  that,  “  it  is 
not  the  Paris  of  the  old  time,  whether  better  or  worse.”  And 
surely  the  Governor,  taking  his  own  experience  there  during 
the  summer,  found  that  others  than  “  Tommy  ”  could  acquire 


PARIS  OF  THE  PAST. 


77 


the  same  feeling-,  at  a  very  slight  temptation.  So  many  of  the 
old  fellows  were  gone  !  There  was  so  much  of  what  Thackeray 
expressed  of  one  locality  in  the  city,  in  that  sad  and  almost 
heart-breaking  “  Ballad  of  Bouillibaisse 

“ - Nothing’s  changed  or  older. 

How's  Monsieur  Terre,  waiter,  pray  ? 

The  waiter  stares,  and  shrugs  his  shoulder  : 

‘Monsieur  is  dead  this  many  a  day.’ 

*  *  *  ♦ 

“Where  are  you,  old  companions  trusty, 

Of  early  days,  met  here  to  dine  ? 

Come,  waiter,  quick,  a  flagon  crusty  ! 

I’ll  pledge  them  in  the  good  old  wine. 

*  *  *  * 

“Ah.  me  !  how  quick  the  days  are  flitting  ! 

I  mind  me  of  a  time  that’s  gone, 

When  here  I’d  sit,  as  now  I’m  sitting. 

In  this  same  place,  but  not  atone  /” 

There  have  been  others  than  Thackeray  suffering  in  the  Paris 
of  to-day  on  account  of  the  Paris  of  yesterday,  though  they 
may  net  have  been  able  so  melodiously  to  express  the  bereave¬ 
ment.  “Tommy”  felt  it  acutely  when  he  penned  the  few 
words  already  quoted.  And  the  Governor  felt  it,  as  he  re¬ 
membered  how  many  of  the  “  boys  ”  of  the  old  days  had  died, 
drifted  away  or  changed  to  him.  As  on  the  first  morning  of 
his  stay  in  Paris,  of  the  summer,  he  walked  out  to  the  Porte 
Dauphine  and  thence  slowly  and  almost  shrinkingly  the  few 
hundreds  of  yards  leading  to  the  corner  of  the  Avenue  de  la 
Roi  de  Rome  and  the  little  Rue  de  la  Faisanderie,  on  the.  bor¬ 
ders  of  Passy.  The  little  green  wind-mill  stood  over  the 
gate-way.  of  the  Moulin  Vert,  as  of  old,  at  the  corner;  and 
tables  could  still  be  seen  set  in  the  grounds  within,  where  ere- 
while  the  Captain  and  the  Governor  had  that  pleasant  supper 
with  a  wedding  party  which  they  believed  to  be  that  of  a  hat¬ 
ter  who  had  married  a  lady’s  maid,  and  where  they  saw  more 
of  heartfelt  hilarity,  and  better  learned  to  understand  the  true 
meaning  of  lifting  the  wineglass  to  the  lips  with  the  simple 
“  A  vot?-e  sante,  Madame /”  than  they  would  have  discovered  in 
a  twelvemonth  elsewhere. 


78 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Yes,  the  Moulin  Vert  remained,  and  no  doubt  some  sort  of 
dry,  unappetizing  repast  might  have  been  procured  there;  but 
the  ambrosial  meal  and  the  hilarity  of  the  past — no.  Then  the 
Governor  strolled  down  the  Rue  de  la  Faisanderie,  only  a  little 
distance  to  No.  23,  where  legend  has  it  that  once  Franklin 
lived  when  Ambassador  to  France,  where  a  school  followed 
later,  in  a  court-yarded  straggling  house  with  some  shrubbery 
in  the  yard  and  barred  windows  to  the  annexed  buildings,  and 
where  Thomas  Cook  had  the  Exposition  Hotel  in  1867.  Alas, 
the  building  stood,  still ;  but  the  gate  ofwhat  had  again  changed 
to  be  a  school  was  closed  and  locked  even  against  the  enquirer ; 
and  only  over  a  stone  wall  could  he  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  win¬ 
dows  of  that  annex-building,  in  the  which  the  Captain,  young 
Ilawesby  and  he  were  one  day  for  a  considerable  time  impris¬ 
oned  through  the  closing  of  a  spring-lock  while  the  key  was 
on  the  outside  of  the  door.  All  looked  shabby  and  gray,  and 
the  whole  place  seemed  haunted  with  the  ghosts  of  the  dead 
past — not  the  less  that  only  a  few  yards  farther  down  the 
street,  on  the  other  side,  a  new  “Cook’s  Exposition  Hotel” 
had  sprung  up  and  appeared  to  be  doing  a  flourishing  busi¬ 
ness  in  cockneys  and  Pittsburg  Americans. 

But  enough  of  this,  and  perhaps  too  much.  As  already  said, 
they  were  all  gone — even  Hart  Durant,  who  only  the  year  be¬ 
fore  the  Exposition  summer  of  1867,  sold  American  drinks  over 
a  marble  slab  at  the  corner  of  Rue  Vivienne  ;  in  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  year  took  one  of  the  great  gold  medals  for  the  noblest  bit 
of  machinery  in  the  collection  ;  and  in  the  year  following  sold 
flowers  for  his  bread,  with  a  pretty  little  grisette  tor  a  partner, 
in  front  of  the  Madeleine  ;  to  be  a  millionnaire  in  a  year  or  two 
following,  and  thereafter — what?  Yes,  all  gone.  Let  the  re¬ 
membrances  of  the  time  go  with  them,  and  the  Governor,  and 
those  who  may  choose  to  accompany  him,  turn  to  various 
“Side-shows  and  Excursions”  made  possible  by  the  Paris 
gatheringof  1878,  and  literally  covering  with  hasty  strides  half 
the  more  notable  places  of  Europe.  The  same  pen  has  already 
written  quite  enough  descriptions  and  descriptive  passages,  in 
other  years,  of  the  peculiarities  of  Paris  lying  outside  the 
Champ  de  Mars;  and  so— elsewhere  ! 


OVER  THE  NORTH  SEA,  TO  ANTWERP. 

By  preconcerted  arrangement,  the  Governor,  condemned  to 
temporary  loneliness  in  London,  found  company  on  the  verge 
of  his  departure  for  the  Continent.  This  came  in  the  shape  of 
the  Artist,  a  sailing-companion  from  New  York  as  well  as  a 
friend  of  many  years’  standing,  who  had  never  before  found 
the  opportunity  for  visiting  Europe,  though  the  hair  had  begun 
to  thin  on  his  brow  and  his  name  had  long  been  honorably 
known  among  picture-lovers.  Slight,  nervous,  active,  restless, 
widely  experienced  in  other  portions  of  the  world  than  Europe, 
a  favorite  among  the  female  sex,  and  with  enough  of  kindly 
feeling  in  him  to  deserve  appreciation  anywhere — -the  truth 
must  be  told  that  he  promised  to  be  a  much  more  welcome 
companion  to  the  Governor,  at  his  past  sixty,  than  he  could 
have  been  in  his  more  riotous  youth  and  busier  middle-age. 

The  Artist  came  up  to  town,  from  the  Midlands,  where  he 
had  been  making  certain  studies,  on  Friday  night;  and  it  is 
not  betraying  any  confidence  to  say  that  between  that  time  and 
the  dawn  of  Sunday  morning,  he  had  “done”  London  much 
more  thoroughly  than  most  persons  can  hope  to  do  it  in  a 
twelvemonth,  besides  making  his  way  into  half-a-dozen  excep¬ 
tional  places  to  which  the  ordinal  traveller  could  not  have 
hoped  for  admission  on  any  pretext,  and  filling  up  a  book  of  an 
hundred  pages  with  sketches  of  nearly  everything  animate  and 
inanimate  in  the  metropolis,  including  Cleopatra’s  Needle,  in 
process  of  uncasing  from  its  caisson,  at  the  Victoria  Embank¬ 
ment,— to  which,  the  commonalty  being  shut  away  by  a  hoard¬ 
ing  which  admitted  of  no  view,  he  had  been  admitted  as  of 
right,  and  shown  about  with  the  effusion  due  a  dignitary.  So 
much  done,  he  was  ready  for  the  Continent — as  what  else 
remained  for  him  on  mere  British  soil  ? 

A  hot  Sunday  noon  saw  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  making 
their  way  eastward  to  the  City,  St.  Katharine’s  Docks,  and  the 


80 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


Belgian  Steam  Packet  Company’s  good  steamer  Baron  Osy, 
there  lying  in  readiness  for  Antwerp.  The  sky  was  threatening 
and  lowering,  as  well  as  hot ;  and  the  prospect  of  leaving  the 
land  for  eighteen  hours  of  transit  by  river  and  sea,  was  well 
blended  of  expectation  and  uncertainty.  Somewhat  larger 
than  the  other  boats  between  London  and  Antwerp,  however, 
the  Baron  Osy  was  a  favorite  and  “  the  fashion  and  a  com¬ 
pany  of  respectable  numbers  and  good  class  was  listening 
impatiently  to  the  blowing  steam  from  her  two  raking  funnels 
and  waiting  for  the  last  bell  and  the  last  word. 

High  noon,  and  the  voyage  was  begun.  It  was  the  first  time 
down  the  Thames,  even  for  the  Governor,  though  he  had  be¬ 
fore  ascended  that  stream  on  a  direct  boat  from  Boulogne  ;  and 
it  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  traversed  the  whole  lower 
Thames  at  all  by  daylight.  “  Where  does  all  the  shipping  of 
London,  that  they  say  is  the  second  seaport  in  the  world, 
stow  itself?”  is  a  question  often  asked  by  visitors ;  and  it  is 
only  after  such  a  sail  down  it  from  London  docks  that  it  can 
be  duly  answered.  Those  docks  ! — they  are  quite  as  much  the 
world’s  wonders  in  the  way  of  stowing  shipping,  as  those  of 
Liverpool  are  in  the  way  of  receiving  half  the  steamers  afloat ; 
and  as  row  after  row  of  masts  follows  each  other,  the  observer 
from  the  river  always  seeing  them  lengthwise,  the  wonder 
is  changed  to  the  very  different  one,  “  From  where,  on  earth, 
do  all  these  vessels  come? — and  have  all  the  mercantile  fleets 
afloat  crowded  into  London  at  once  ?” 

The  Baron  Osy  is  a  substantial  and  lively  craft  of  twelve  to 
fifteen  hundred  tons;  and  she  is  officered  and  managed  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  her  reputation.  On  that  special  Sunday  her 
passengers  dined  well,  and  certainly  enjoyed  the  voyage  down 
the  river  without  any  drawback,  albeit  one  or  two  fierce  gusts 
and  sharp  dashes  of  rain  hid  the  view  of  the  widening  banks 
and  drove  all  outstanding  people  under  shelter.  Whether  it 
can  be  said  that  they  comported  themselves  as  well  as  enjoyed, 
remains  an  open  question.  Sure  it  is  that  at  a  certain  hour  in 
the  afternoon,  the  vanities  of  everyday  life,  in  the  shape  of  a 
box  of  dominoes,  came  into  “play”  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word  ;  and  equally  certain  is  it  that  the  Governor - . 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


81 


The  truth  is,  that  this  person,  whatever  his  invulnerability  in 
other  regards,  has  an  Achilles  heel  in  his  opinion  of  himself. 
He  can  not  be  told  that  anything  lies  beyond  his  power,  with 
equanimity.  And  when,  he  being  only  an  on-looker,  the  ver¬ 
satile  captain  of  the  Baron  Osy,  on  a  broad  board  extended 
across  some  trestles  between  the  paddle-boxes,  did  mercilessly 
beat  and  bother  sundry  of  his  passengers,  to  their  loss  and  his 
gain  of  divers  sixpences — then  the  gubernatorial  choler  (not 
collar)  rose,  and  he  forgot  that  the  day  was  the  Sabbath. 

“  Let  me  try  you,  Captain  !”  and  the  captain  allowed  him  to 
do  so.  In  two  minutes  the  stickler  for  all  the  proprieties  was 
gambling  (a  thing  that  he  had  not  before  done  for  a  quarter  of 
a  century— not  even  under  the  wild  incitement  of  Baden- 
Baden),  and  gambling  on  Sunday.  It  perhaps  does  not  matter 
that  he  was  being  soundly  beaten  by  the  all-prevailmg  Captain, 
when  a  sudden  cry  trom  the  Artist  brought  him  at  once  to  his 
recollection  and  his  feet. 

“  What,  Governor  !  ” 

The  Artist  had  been  absent  in  another  part  of  the  ship,  and 
had  only  at  that  moment  arrived,  to  be  thus  horror-struck.  He 
did  what  in  him  lay ;  he  uttered  the  exclamation  al read y  re¬ 
corded.  At  the  sound,  the  offending  person  recollected 
himself  and  deserted — not  (the  assurance  needs  repeating), 
not  because  the  gallant  captain  was  literally  “  beating  him  out 
of  his  boots,”  but  on  account  of  the  day,  which  no  one  else  on 
the  vessel  except  the  Artist  seemed  to  remember  ! 

It  is  obvious  that,  during  these  and  other  operations,  the 
afternoon  had  been  wearing  away,  and  the  Thames  and  its 
banks  passing  before  eyes  not  too  observant.  Glimpses  had 
been  caught,  not  far  down  the  river  at  the  right,  of  Grecn- 
hithe,  with  its  chalk-pits  and  commanding  position,  and  the 
blended  remembrance  that  there,  long  since  the  Governor 
first  began  to  visit  it,  stood  one  of  the  finger-boards,  dating 
from  time  immemorial,  though  only  of  wood,  pointing  London- 
ward  for  Canterbury  pilgrims, — and  that  there,  until  only  one 
year  ago,  lived  Samuel  O.  Beeton,  the  most  enterprising  of 
London  publishers,  and  who  could  have  told  more  of  the 


82 


OVER  HALF-E  UR  OPE. 


origin  of  “  The  Coming  K.,”  “  Edward  the  Seventh,"  and  other 
holiday  rhymes  of  like  satirical  character,  than  any  other  man 
about  London.  Beyond  Greenhithe,  the  Thames  widening 
very  fast,  and  the  Baron  Osy  keeping  well  away  from  the  south 
shore,  little  more  was  to  be  seen.  At  Gravesend,  though  less 
than  thirty  miles  from  London  by  river,  the  narrowness  of  the 
Thames  really  terminates  ;  and  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen 
from  the  ship  of  the  merry-makers  who  might  be  supposed, 
that  Sunday  afternoon,  to  be  in  mad  enjoyment  there,  and  at 
Rosherville  and  Springhead.  Of  much  more  consequence  was 
it,  however,  to  catch  a  view  on  the  other,  or  north  side  of  the 
river,  of  a  low  and  modest  fortification  of  which  the  name  has 
sounded  over  the  world  for  three  centuries  in  connection  with 
the  name  of  a  great  Queen.  Here  it  was,  to  this  modest  little 
Tilbury  Fort,  then  no  doubt  reckoned  a  formidable  fortification, 
that  Queen  Elizabeth  went  down  to  inspect  the  land’s 
defenders,  when  the  Spanish  Armada  was  reported  at  sea  and 
the  smoke  of  warning  arose  from  every  headland  of  note 
around  the  little  island.  Raleigh  had  been  here,  and  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  and  Essex  :  it  was  worth  seeing,  if  only  for  a 
glance,  this  little  Tilbury  Fort,  made  a  part  of  the  most 
momentous  day  of  English  history  for  half-a-dozen  centuries. 

Sheerness  was  dropped  too  far  southward  to  be  seen  at 
all,  the  steamer  bearing  away  so  far  for  the  North  Sea  cross¬ 
ing;  and  only  the  white  cliffs  and  some  of  the  white  houses 
of  Margate  came  into  distant  view.  And  that  was  the  last 
glimpse  of  England,  except  a  hazy  peep  of  the  North  Fore¬ 
land,  far  away  to  the  south,  an  hour  before  sunset.  A 
parting  reminder  of  her  power  was  given,  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  in  overtaking  and  passing  the  magnificent  P.  and  O. 
steamer  Cathay ,  going  out  on  her  voyage  to  the  land  whose 
ancient  name  she  bore.  And  another  reminder,  much  more 
painful,  came  very  soon  after. 

“  Would  you  take  the  trouble  to  point  out  to  me  when  we 
pass  it,  the  Kentish  Knock,  where  the  Deutschland  went  to 
pieces  two  or  three  years  ago  ?  ”  asked  the  Governor,  who  had 
abandoned  gambling,  from  ill-success,  of  the  Captain,  who 
had  abandoned  it  for  lack  of  any  more  antagonists  to  conquer. 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


83 


“  The  Deutschland  went  to  pieces  just  about  where  we  are  : 
we  are  on  the  Kentish  Knock  at  this  moment !  ”  answered  the 
accomodating  Captain,  with  such  energy  that  for  the  instant 
the  Governor  believed  himself  a  passenger  on  a  wreck,  and 
looked  around  for  life  preservers.  But  as  no  one  else  seemed 
to  be  seriously  alarmed,  he  grew  reassured  and,  listened  with 
the  sensation  of  water  running  down  his  back  to  the  Captain's 
relation  of  his  own  experiences  on  the  night  of  the  catastrophe. 

“  It  was  a  dreadful  night — that  of  the  Sixth  of  December, 
1875,”  said  the  Commander,  speaking  in  German  as  he  grew 
excited — so  that  the  Governor  would  not  have  profited  largely 
by  his  discourse,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  Artist  spoke  all  the 
languages  of  the  globe  and  some  not  usually  heard  on  it. 
“  That  of  the  Fifth  was  not  nearly  so  bad,  though  bad  enough. 
I  crossed  the  North  Sea,  by  a  route  only  a  little  northward 
from  this,  on  the  night  of  the  Sixth,  in  a  ship  nearly  as  large 
as  our  good  Baron ,  here,”  (his  way  of  designating  the  Osy, 
every  time  that  he  spoke  of  her),  “  and  a  ship  quite  as  able; 
and  I  never  went  before  a  worse  gale  or  one  that  raised  a 
worse  sea.  We  were  under  water,  most  of  the  time,  like 
fishes  ;  and  I  had  quite  enough  of  it  when,  in  the  grey  of  the 
morning,  we  came  under  the  lee  of  the  Essex  shore  and  there¬ 
after  found  comparatively  smooth  water.  Cold  ? — ach,  it  was 
awfully  cold,  and  the  snow  and  sleet  drove  in  the  eyes  of  one 
so  that  seeing  was  next  to  impossible.” 

“  You  did  not  see  anything  of  the  Deutschland,  then  ?  though 
of  course  you  could  not!”  queried  one  of  the  listeners. 

“  Nothing  of  her — no,  I  suppose  that  if  we  had,  we  should 
all  have  been  lost  in  trying  to  save  the  others.  The  Deutsch¬ 
land,  you  must  remember,  left  Bremerhaven  on  Sunday 
morning — that  was  the  Fifth — at  nine  o’clock,  and  so  was  not 
out  quite  one  day  when  she  struck  on  the  Kentish  Knock, 
which  you  must  know  is  a  sand  bank.” 

"  But  must  she  not  have  been  very  much  out  of  her  course 
from  Bremen  for  New  York,  to  be  here  at  all?”  queried  the 
Governor,  who  has  sometimes  a  fancy  that  he  understands  the 
mere  outer  sdges  of  navigation. 


7 


84 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


“  Very  much  out — yes,”  answered  the  Captain.  “  But,  young 
man,”  and  he  glanced  severely  at  the  grey-haired  person  so 
designated,  “  if  you  knew  anything  of  the  sea— any  more  than 
you  do  of  dominoes— you  would  understand  that  in  such  a 
snow-storm  and  gale,  a  ship,  even  a  steamer,  does  not  obey 
like  a  very  good  child.  Yes,  she  must  have  been  twenty-five 
or  thirty  miles  out  of  her  course  ;  but  Captain  Bruckstein — 
he  was  my  friend — was  a  good  man,  and  there  is  no  fault  to  be 
found  with  him  or  his  officers,  Lauenstein,  Thalenhaust,  Mor- 
risse — they  were  all  good  men  ;  and  do  you  know  that  one — 
that  was  poor  Otto  von  Tramnitz,  had  been  on  the  search  for 
the  North  Pole  with  one  of  your  American  commanders  ?” 

“  I  know  the  fact,”  said  one  of  the  auditors — a  grav-haired, 
quiet  man,  who  had  not  before  spoken.  “  And  perhaps  I  know 
something  more  of  that  loss  than  most  of  you,  though  1  was 
not  at  sea  in  the  storm.” 

“  Ach  ?  ”  queried  the  Captain,  in  one  word. 

“Yes;  I  was  at  Rochester  on  the  night  of  the  Sixth  and 
morning  of  the  Seventh,”  said  the  speaker,  “and  I  saw  some¬ 
thing  there  that  I  shall  never  forget — something  that  I  shall 
shudder  over,  while  I  live,  every  time  that  I  think  of  it.  I 
saw  what  man  can  endure,  and  what  he  cannot  endure.  I  saw 
August,  one  of  the  quartermasters  of  the  Deutschland ,  come 
ashore  with  his  boat,  bringing  the  first  intelligence  of  the  dis¬ 
aster.  He  was  so  piteously  exhausted  that  he  could  not  speak 
for  an  hour  alter  we  began  to  give  him  restoratives  ;  and  how 
he  had  continued  to  hold  the  oars,  is  the  greatest  wonder  I 
have  ever  known,  for  both  his  hands  seemed  to  be  frozen  stiff 
when  they  dropped  them.  But  that  was  not  the  worst.” 

“  Acb  ?  What  worse  could  be  ?  ”  again  queried  the  Cap¬ 
tain,  who  seemed  not  to  have  heard  all,  or  who  had  forgotten. 

“  Worse,  much  worse,”  repeated  the  narrator.  “  One  living 
man  and  two  corpses,  in  any  boat,  is  worse  than  Charon.  Poor 
August  was  alive,  however  frozen  ;  but  another  quartermaster, 
named,  I  think,  Forsenstein,  and  a  common  sailor,  were  lying 
dead  and  stiff  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  while  the  one  man 
rowed  on  and  on  for  his  life  and  to  seek  aid  for  his  com¬ 
panions.” 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


85 


“Ach,  Gott  !  that  was  horrible,  indeed.  I  did  not  remem¬ 
ber  that,  if  I  heard  it,”  said  the  captain.  At  which  juncture 
the  Governor,  afraid  of  being  overshadowed  by  everybody  in 
information  about  an  event  of  which  he  had  been  the  first 
inquirer,  communicated  his  modicum  of  remembrance. 

“  I  remember  that  they  acknowledged  hearing  the  guns  of 
the  doomed  ship  at  Harwich,  and  seeing  her  rockets  nearly 
a  whole  day,  when  no  one  could  put  out  to  her  rescue,  because 
no  boat  could  live  in  the  sea.  And  I  remember,  also,  very 
well,  that  those  who  eventually  reached  the  wreck  on  the  tug 
Liverpool,  the  second  morning,  spoke  of  the  scene  as  too  hor¬ 
rible  for  description.  Men,  women  and  children  lashed  in  th.e 
rigging,  many  of  them  dead,  and  those  alive  taken  off  more 
than  half  naked,  as  the  ship  had  struck  at  before  daylight  in 
the  morning,  when  they  were  in  their  berths.  I  saw  just  such 
a  scene,  many  years  ago,  on  the  American  coast,  when  the 
ship  also  struck  in  the  night,  and  the  half-dressed  lashed 
themselves  in  the  rigging  and  froze  and  died  there  ;  and  I  have 
not  forgotten  the  spectacle,  and  will  not  to  my  dying  day.” 

“  And  /remember  something  that  neither  of  you  have  ever 
heard,  probably,  in  connection  with  the  Deutschland,”  said  the 
Artist,  who  had  so  far  been  only  listener  and  occasional  trans¬ 
lator.  “When  the  news  of  the  loss  came  to  New  York,  an 
old  pilot  slapped  down  his  hand  on  his  thigh,  declared  that  he 
had  known  for  months  how  that  ship  would  end,  and  proved 
that  he  had  told  scores  of  the  fact,  in  advance.  She  had  burst 
a  gun,  he  said,  off  Staten  Island,  when  firing  a  salute,  and 
killed  four  steerage  passengers  ;  then  a  skeleton  had  been 
found  behind  the  boilers  ;  and  then  she  had  broken  her  screw; 
without  any  weather  to  justify  the  accident.  She  had  been 
doomed  all  the  while,  and  he  had  told  them  so  !  ” 

The  night  was  calm  and  starlit,  with  literally  no  sea,  though 
with  swell  enough  to  create  the  regulation  pitch  and  make 
uncomfortable  many  of  the  lady-passengers  below.  Perhaps 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  were  on  deck,  and  there  re¬ 
mained,  paying  divided  attention  to  the  conversation  with  the 
salty  flavor,  and  to  the  omens  and  aspects  of  a  night  at  half- 


86 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


sea,  a  novelty  to  many.  Well  along  in  the  evening,  the  lights 
of  Ostend  were  made — very  distant  to  starboard,  but  plain  in 
their  long  line,  showing  the  extent  of  the  sea-shore  resort  at 
that  favorite  port  ;  then,  much  later,  those  of  Blankenburg, 
with  the  same  suggestion,  though  also  very  distant ;  then,  at 
past  midnight,  those  of  Flushing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Scheldt 
and  on  the  coast  of  Holland. 

At  one  in  the  morning,  the  good  ship  Baron  Osy  ceased  from 
her  pitch,  as  she  entered  the  Scheldt,  and  gave  those  remain¬ 
ing  on  deck  a  night  view  of  the  antique  houses  of  the  old 
Hollandische  town  of  Flushing,  low-lyin-g,  shaded,  dyked,  and 
with  the  inevitable  wind-mills  of  the  Low  Countries  coming  at 
once  into  view,  Then,  the  sea-voyage  being  over,  and  the 
course  of  the  river  reported  most  flat  and  uninteresting,  the 
before-despised  berths  were  sought  even  by  the  most  inveterate 
night-hawks.  When  they  opened  their  eyes  at  seven,  the  next 
morning,  the  Baron  Osy  had  ceased  moving  as  well  as  pitch¬ 
ing,  and  a  body  of  men  in  blouses  were  engaged  in  making  a 
bridge  from  her  guards  to  the  wharf  by  running  out  long  poles 
and  ranging  great  planks  along  them  ;  while  the  noble  tower 
of  a  cathedral  rising  skyward  at  a  little  distance,  and  the 
peaked  gabled  houses  meeting  the  eye  in  long  lines  as  it  swept 
up  and  down  the  banks  of  the  river,  told  that  the  whole  water- 
transit  was  concluded  at  famed  historical  old  Antwerp, 


: xi. 

ANTWERP,  HISTORY,  AND  QUENTIN  MATSYS. 

It  was  the  first  visit  of  the  Governor  to  Antwerp,  as  well  as 
the  first  of  the  Artist  to  any  of  the  old  Continental  cities  of 
Europe.  It  was,  to  the  former,  the  carrying  out  of  one  more 
of  the  hopes  of  a  lifetime  ;  but  that  carrying  out  was  to  be 
done  in  a  few  hours,  as  Brussels  and  the  Rhine  were  calling 
within  a  limited  number  of  days.  To  the  Artist,  as  they  landed 
that  morning  amid  the  usual  crowd  of  loungers  always  attend¬ 
ing  disembarkation  from  any  vessel  in  which  they  have  no 
interest  whatever  (many  of  the  men  bloused  and  most  of  the 
women  white-capped  in  this  instance),  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Artist  was  thinking  of  the  treasures  in  the  picture-world  so 
soon  to  tall  beneath  his  eye;  but  it  is  equally  sure  that  the 
Governor,  a  perfect  glutton  in  history,  was  principally  ab¬ 
sorbed  in  the  great  past  of  the  old  city,  and  recalling  the  forms 
of  old  that  had  long  since  stalked  through  its  narrow  streets, 
done  their  work  in  the  world,  good  or  evil,  and  disappeared. 
Untrained  child  that  he  was,  and  ever  has  been,  he  was  look¬ 
ing  (in  his  mind’s  eye,  Horatio,)  to  see  emerging  into  view,  at 
one  of  the  street  corners,  a  tall  figure,  with  fierce  bearded 
face,  broad  plumed  hat,  spurred  boots,  and  long  sword  clank¬ 
ing  on  the  pavement  from  beneath  his  black  cloak — and  to 
know  that  this  was  the  terrible  Duke  of  Alva,  the  virtual  de¬ 
stroyer  of  the  Netherlands,  who  ought,  by  any  right,  to  have 
been  dead  and  rotten  lor  this  three  hundred  years. 

And  what  a  history  it  has  been — that  of  this  Flemish  north¬ 
ern  capital  of  the  Spanish  dominion,  this  city  with  no  equal  in 
position  and  no  rival  in  its  opportunities  to  be  queen  of  the 
trade  of  Western  Europe  !  What  plots  have  been  hatched  be¬ 
neath  the  eaves  ol  some  of  those  very  old  houses,  now  only 
picturesque  in  their  slow  decay  !  What  struggles  between  the 
old  religion  and  the  new,  have  raged  here,  and  raged  without 
ever  coming  to  any  definite  victory  on  either  side,  as  the  Prot- 


88 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


estant  stubborness  of  the  Fleming,  and  his  self-willed  per¬ 
sonal  rule,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  gilt  figures  of  the  Virgin 
and  Child  visible  at  every  turn,  in  niches  and  on  corners,  on 
the  other  hand,  combine  to  prove. 

Antwerp  has  been  called,  at  times,  the  most  Catholic  city  in 
Europe.  Certes  it  has  proved  itself,  at  others,  the  most  un¬ 
manageable  by  the  hierarchy  of  Rome,  if  the  most  Catholic. 
The  scores  of  windows  in  ordinary  dwellings,  still  stanchioned 
with  the  iron  bars  put  in  them  by  the  hands  of  blacksmiths 
who  ceased  work  centuries  ago,  and  the  gratings  in  innumer¬ 
able  doors  through  which  the  visitor  could  always  be  spied 
before  their  opening,  in  the  old  and  troublous  times,  tell 
enough  of  a  history  of  blood  and  force  through  which  the 
Flemings  of  Antwerp  have  passed  with  less  of  impression  on 
their  native  character  than  any  other  people  on  the  globe. 

What  must  the  old  city  have  been,  say  up  to  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  it  numbered  200,000  inhabit¬ 
ants,  and  when  from  2,000  to  3,000  vessels  daily  loaded  and 
unloaded  in  the  Scheldt  before  it,  with  500  wagons  daily  enter¬ 
ing  its  gates,  bearing  the  produce  and  wealth  of  fertile  Flan¬ 
ders  !  But  Philip  II.,  of  Spain,  willed  that  it  should  be  not 
only  Spanish  but  Catholic,  while  the  people  willed  that  they 
would  have  the  Reformation  if  they  liked.  So  Alva  sacked  it, 
amid  the  execrations  of  a  world.  Then  it  revolted,  and  put 
the  Spaniard  in  ward  if  it  did  not  drive  him  out.  Then  that 
greatest  warrior  of  his  time,  and  one  of  the  best,  Alexander 
Farnese,  Prince  of  Parma,  won  one  of  the  noblest  successes 
of  his  life,  by  investing  and  taking  it,  after  the  death  of  Don 
John  of  Austria  had  removed  him  from  a  government  which 
he  adorned.  Here  it  was  that  William  the  Silent,  Prince  of 
Orange,  displayed  some  of  the  ablest  qualities  of  his  nature, 
both  in  war  and  diplomacy  ;  and  here  it  was  that  the  first  das¬ 
tardly  attempt  was  made  on  his  life,  the  ineffectual  bullet  actu¬ 
ally  carrying  away  some  of  his  teeth, — in  anticipation  of  his 
assassination  at  Delft,  by  the  fanatic,  Balthazar  Gerard,  in  1585, 

But  we  must  pause  here,  before  this  mere  sketch  becomes 
that  dullest  thing  in  knowledge,  a  history,  with  all  its  false 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


83 


philosophies  and  inaccuracies.  Let  us  to  the  Cathedral,  to 
which  the  steps  of  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  did  not  need 
any  of  the  proffering  guides,  the  great  spire  being  landmark 
quite  sufficient. 

Beside  that  of  Cologne,  or  that  of  Strasbourg,  the  Cathe¬ 
dral  of  Antwerp  cannot  hold  place,  however  magnificent  when 
uncompared.  It  is  said  to  have  a  length  of  500  feet,  and  a 
width  of  250;  while  the  spire,  on  the  right  hand  of  the  great 
Gothic  front,  is  variously  alleged  to  have  the  height  of  350, 
400,  and  even  450  feet.  In  all  probability  the  smallest  figure 
is  nearest  to  the  actual  height  of  the  noble  pile,  with  many  of 
the  best  features  of  the  order  in  its  ascent  and  diminution  to 
the  crowning  point,  and  the  surmounting  vane  seeming  well 
up  to  the  low  clouds  of  the  Flemish  morning.  The  opposite 
side  of  the  front  has  a  companion  tower,  rising,  however,  only 
fifty  to  a  hundred  feet  above  the  roof  of  the  building,  with 
half-a-dozen  points  and  a  low  central  pepper-box  spire.  For 
the  rest  of  the  outer  appearance  of  the  great  Cathedral,  what 
more  can  or  need  be  said  than  that  it  is  grandly  Gothic,  with 
all  the  charm  of  that  order  of  architecture,  oppressing  the 
beholder  with  its  immensity  and  delighting  the  lover  of  anti¬ 
quity  with  the  dingy  duskiness  which  centuries  have  thrown 
like  a  dark  veil  over  the  whole  ? 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that,  having  thus  hurriedly  sur¬ 
veyed  the  pile,  the  two  visitors  obeyed  the  suggestions  of  the 
enforced  chaperon,  and  entered.  No — there  was  that  without, 
compelling  almost  as  much  attention  as  the  Cathedral,  albeit 
occupying  but  little  space  besides  its  giant  bulk  heaved 
heavenward.  And  beside  this,  the  Governor  held  the  Artist 
by  the  button-hole,  after  the  manner  of  the  Ancient  Mariner 
dealing  with  the  wedding  guest,  and  told  him  a  little  story 
which  he  may  or  may  not  have  known  quite  as  well  as  the 
relator. 

Once  upon  a  time,  say  about  1480,  when  Columbus  was 
dreaming  of  America  but  had  not  yet  sailed  to  discover  it, 
there  was  a  painter  of  Antwerp  who  had  covered  a  large 
amount  of  canvas  with  oil  and  colors,  amassed  a  certain 


90 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


amount  of  money  and  an  uncertain  amount  of  fame  thereby 
(not  so  much  fame  that  his  name  has  been  preserved— so  we 
will  call  him  Johannes  von  Schmidt,  as  most  convenient),  and 
who  stood  among  the  notable  men  of  the  city  on  th-@ 
Scheldt.  Among  his  property,  and  by  far  the  most  trouble¬ 
some  part  of  it,  was  a  daughter,  who  must,  for  this  occasion 
only,  figure  as  Annetchen  von  Schmidt,  in  the  absence  of  any 
memory  on  the  subject.  It  goes  withourt  saying,  that  An¬ 
netchen,  as  became  the  daughter  of  an  artist,  was  beau¬ 
tiful.  But  it  does  not  go  without  saying  that  she  had  ful¬ 
filled  her  woman's  destiny  (in  part)  by  falling  in  love,  neces¬ 
sarily  with  a  young  man,  and  unnecessarily  with  one  of  the 
signally  ineligible. 

If  there  was  a  peculiarly  smoky  an-d  sooty  part  of  the  old 
city,  it  was  to  be  found  in  the  Borg  Strasse,  half  a  mile  from 
the  Cathedral,  eastward.  And  if  there  was  a  peculiarly  smoky 
and  sooty  shop  on  the  Borg  Strasse,  it  was  that  of  Jacobus 
von  Boobervaert,  iron-worker,  and  what  modern  ages  call 
blacksmith-in-general.  Von  Boobervaert  was  somewhat  ad¬ 
dicted  to  his  cups,  and  found  in  the  bier-haus  of  his  gossip. 
Barent  von  Scbincken,  that  which  kept  him  too  much  of  his 
time  from  the  anvil  for  prosperity.  Things  might  have  gone 
badly  on  this  account,  but  for  the  steady  industry  of  his  one 
apprentice,  a  young  fellow  who  seemed  to  have  no  care  for 
the  dirtiness  of  his  face  or  the  scorched  condition  of  his 
leather  apron,  so  that  he  could  blow — blow — blow,  hammer — 
hammer — hammer  away,  at  forge  and  anvil.  We  will  call  him, 
for  the  time,  Petrus  Baengherz,  than  which  no  more  befitting 
name  can  well  be  found  for  the  everlasting  wielder  of  forge- 
hammers. 

Now  we  have,  at  last,  a  glimpse  at  the  love-mate  of  pretty 
Annetchen  von  Schmidt.  The  stout  young  blacksmith,  who 
really  washed  his  face  and  took  off  his  scorched  leather  apron 
when  he  visited  the  house  of  the  painter  (somewhat  surrep¬ 
titiously,  be  it  observed),  was  beardedly  handsome,  if  the  like¬ 
nesses  preserved  of  him  tell  a  true  story.  He  had  fallen  the 
whole  ol  his  six  feet  in  love  with  the  painter’s  daughter,  and 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


91 


she  the  whole  of  her  five  feet  four  in  corresponding  love  with 
him.  Things  were  approaching  a  crisis,  as  in  such  cases  made 
and  provided.  That  love  must  be  declared  ;  and  it  would  be  (as 
it  proved  to  be)  what  the  students  in  “  La  Vie  de  Boheme  ” 
thought  it  would  be  when  they  announced  that  they  had  no 
money  to  pay  for  the  supper  already  eaten  — rough. 

It  was  rough.  Young  Petrus  Baengherz  called  upon  elderly 
Johannes  von  Schmidt,  with  his  face  washed  and  his  best 
clothes  donned  for  the  occasion.  He  found  the  painter  in  his 
studio,  brush  in  hand  and  velvet  cap  on  head,  studying  what 
he  thought  an  “  effect  ”  in  a  fresh  painted  daub,  which  event¬ 
ually  became  a  fireboard  at  Malines.  He  was  not  received 
with  effusion — the  signal  to  sit,  of  Von  Schmidt,  being  such  a 
motion  as  he  would  have  made  to  a  dog  of  “down!”  And 
when,  after  much  reddening  and  some  stammering,  he  an¬ 
nounced  his  love  for  the  daughter  of  the  painter,  the  eyes  of 
the  father  shot  such  glances  of  scorn  that  they  might  have 
paralyzed  a  man  less  in  earnest  than  the  blacksmith. 

“  What !”  and  the  exclamation  of  the  astounded  dauber  was 
accompanied  by  an  expectoration  of  disdain.  “What!  you? 
who  are  yotj,  to  ask  for  my  daughter,  the  high-born  Fraulein 
Annetchen  von  Schmidt,  only  child  and  heiress  of  the  Frei¬ 
herr  Johannes  von  Schmidt,  Painter  in  Extraordinary  to  the 
Burgesses  of  the  Catholic  city  of  Antwerp  !” 

“  H  umph  !  painter  in  very  extraordinary,”  was  the  sotto  voce 
comment  of  the  lover,  catching  a  side  glance  at  the  daub. 
But  that  was  not  what  he  said,  aloud ;  it  very  often  happens 
that  what  we  say  aloud,  is  not  what  we  silently  think.  What 
he  said  aloud  was  : 

“You  are  a  great  artist,  Mynherr  von  Schmidt,  and  I  am 
only  a  poor  worker  in  iron  ;  but  all  the  same,  I  want  your 
daughter.” 

“  By  Saint  Aloysius  of  Bamberbustel,  then,  all  I  can  say  is, 
that  you  will  continue  to  want  her  !”  thundered  the  painter. 
“Know,  man  of  leather  aprons  and  cinder  heaps,  that  my 
daughter  shall  never  marry  any  one  but  an  artist.  Ay,  I  go 
further,  so  as  to  extinguish  your  unreasonable  hopes  at  once. 


92 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


She  shall  never  marry  even  an  artist,  who  is  not  superior  to 
myself.  There,  we  have  had  enough,  I  think,  of  this  impudent 
nonsense  — get !”  (or  words  to  that  effect.) 

But  young  Petrus  Baengherz  did  not  remove  from  his  stool ; 
he  merely  fumbled  for  a  moment  in  the  pocket  of  his  doublet, 
and  pulled  out  a  florin. 

“  Heads  or  tails,  whether  you  give  me  one  year  or  two  years 
to  try  to  win  her  !”  he  said,  as  he  spun  up  the  florin  in  the  air 
and  it  came  down  with  the  tail  uppermost.  “  Ah,  well,  it  is 
tails,  and  I  can  wait.  In  two  years,  Mynherr  von  Schmidt,  I 
shall  claim  your  daughter,  and  take  her  !”  And  he  (careful 
young  man)  put  the  Porin  back  into  his  doublet  pocket. 

“  What  !  In  defiance  of  my  will  ?”  angrily  demanded  the 
painter. 

“  No,  in  pursuance  of  your  will,”  was  the  reply.  “  If  I  am 
not  a  greater  artist  than  yourself,  and  if  you  do  not  acknowl¬ 
edge  that  I  am,  in  two  years,  make  your  daughter  up  into 
sausages,  for  all  she  can  ever  be  to  me!  If  I  do,  remember 
the  other  side  of  the  story.  Good  morning  !” 

“  Bah  !  you  an  artist !”  sneered  the  painter,  as  his  trouble¬ 
some  guest  disappeared.  Then  he  rang  the  bell  (or  whatever 
else  of  the  sort  was  at  hand),  and  commanded  the  presence  of 
his  daughter.  Annetchen  came,  bewitchingly  lovely,  and 
naturally  in  wonder  what  could  be  wanted  of  her  at  that  time 
of  day. 

‘‘A  young  brute  of  a  blacksmith,  named  Petrus  Baengherz, 
has  been  here,  and  says  that  he  loves  you.” 

“  Yes,  pa  ;  ”  the  fact  being  accepted  as  the  most  natural  thing 
in  the  world. 

“  He  wishes  to  marry  you  !” 

“Yes,  pa  !”  that  fact,  too,  seeming  quite  natural. 

“  Humph  !  do  you  love  him?" 

“Yes,  pa!” — the  third  point  thus  being  settled  with  the 
same  brevity. 

“  Now,  look  here,  young  lady  !”  broke  out  the  irate  father, 
who  had  thus  far  restrained  himself  wonderfully,  “  we  have 
had  just  enough  of  this  infernal  nonsense,  and  you  may  pre- 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


93 


pare  yourself  to  fall  in  love  with  the  first  respectable  man  I 
bring  you  !  Do  you  hear  ?” 

“  Yes,  pa.” 

“That  will  do,  then.  Go  off.  I  have  settled  Mynherr 
Petrus  Baengherz,  with  his  diabolical  impudence,  by  inform¬ 
ing  him  that  my  daughter  should  only  be  allowed  to  marry  a 
great  artist — even  a  greater  one  than  myself;  and  he — St. 
Ernebastus  of  Dickenswivel ! — do  you  know  what  he  said  ?” 

“  No,  pa  ;  ”  as  was  very  natural  under  the  circumstances. 

“  He  played  me  heads  or  tails  whether  he  should  wait  one  or 
two  years  before  he  came  after  you,  and  boasted  that  in  the 
two  years  he  would  be  the  great  artist  who  would  have  a 
right  to  marry  you  !  Ila  !  ha  !  ha  !  ho  !  ho  !  ho  !  ”  and  the 
dauber,  for  the  first  time  that  day,  merry  over  the  recollection 
of  the  pitiful  boast,  laughed  until  he  was  obliged  to  hold  his 
sides  with  his  hands. 

“Yes,  pa.”  To  which  part  of  her  sire’s  last  words  this 
applied,  seemed  doubtful. 

“  That  is  all.  You  understand  me!”  (Which  she  did  not.) 
“Go  !”  And  she  went. 

All  chronicles  of  the  day,  while  they  narrate  the  behavings 
of  petty  princes,  the  doings  of  insignificant  commonwealths, 
and  other  small  deer  of  that  order,  unaccountably  fail  to  say 
anything  of  the  occurrences  of  the  next  two  years  in  the 
household  of  Johannes  von  Schmidt  and  the  life  of  lovely 
Annetchen.  Then  the  curtain  lifts  with  the  same  suddenness 
that  marked  its  descent,  and  all  is  clear  thereafter. 

At  exactly  two  years  from  the  visit  of  Petrus  Baengherz, 
to  the  day  and  the  hour,  the  young  man  stood  again  in  the 
painter’s  presence,  in  the  same  spot — the  studio.  (The  daub 
had  gone  away  on  its  journey  to  become  a  fireboard.)  It  was 
the  first  reappearance,  at  least  to  the  eyes  of  the  father  ;  of 
what  had  occurred  with  the  daughter  nothing  can  be  said,  for 
obvious  reasons. 

“Ha!  What  do  you  want  ?  ”  demanded  the  dauber,  recog¬ 
nizing  the  unwelcome  figure,  a  trifle  older  and  the  face  a  trifle 
more  bearded. 


94 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


“  I  want  you." 

“For  what?  Are  you  playing  the  devil,  and  have  a  fancy 
that  you  have  come  for  me?” 

“  No  ;  but  I  want  you,  and  at  once.  Come  !  ” 

There  was  something  indefinably  impressive  in  the  words 
and  the  gesture  ;  and  the  painter,  though  he  did  not  know 
why  he  should  do  so,  accompanied  his  summoner.  They  de¬ 
scended  into  the  street,  and  the  elder  man  followed  the  steps 
of  the  younger,  with  some  difficulty  keeping  up,  as  the  former, 
with  long  strides,  led  the  way  eastward  and  to  the  smoky 
quarter  of  the  Borg  Strasse.  All  this,  without  another  word. 
They  passed  into  the  shop  which  two  years  before  had  been 
that  of  Jacobus  von  Boobervaert,  now  that  of  his  quondam 
apprentice.  They  passed  through  the  rear  door  into  the  back 
yard,  the  painter  moving  somewhat  hastily  to  escape  possible 
grime  from  the  forge. 

“  Here  is  where  I  have  something  to  show  you,”  said  the 
young  man  ;  and  Von  Schmidt  looked  to  see  where  anything 
could  be,  worth  the  looking  at.  All  that  he  saw,  was  a  hoard¬ 
ing  of  upright  boards,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  by  four  or 
five  feet  square,  and  tacked  together  with  nails.  Very  naturally 
he  said,  what  has  since  been  repeated  verv  irreverently,  not 
to  say  slangily : 

“  I  don’t  see  it !  ” 

“  No,  but  you  will !  ” 

As  he  spoke,  the  young  man  seized  one  of  the  loose  boards 
of  the  hoarding,  and  pulled  it  down.  Another  followed,  and 
another.  Then  the  painter  saw  that  there  was  iron-work 
within.  Ilalf-a-dozen  additional  pulls,  and  all  the  hoarding 
lay  on  the  pavement  of  the  dingy  back  yard,  and  the  astonished 
eyes  of  the  would-not-be  father-in-law  had  the  first  sight,  of 
any  living  man  except  the  creator,  of  the  most  marvellous 
specimen  of  skill  and  taste  in  hammering  iron  ever  looked 
upon,  either  in  the  ages  past  or  present, 

Who  shall  describe  that  wonderful  canopy  of  wrought  iron, 
which  to  this  day  forms  the  very  apotheosis  of  that  metal  in 
the  world?  Who  shall  tell  of  the  delicacy  of  the  leaves  and 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


95 


tendrils  in  hundreds,  gemming  the  heavier  portions  of  the 
work,  and  proving  that  the  eye  which  observed  the  originals 
in  nature,  must  have  been  only  less  deft  than  the  hand  that 
moulded  them  again  in  the  ductile  iron  ?  And  what  marvel 
that  the  painter  (though  only  a  dauber)  stood  spell-bound  be¬ 
fore  this  new  revelation  of  human  genius  ?  He  was  aroused, 
after  some  minutes,  by  the  voice  of  Baengherz  : 

“  That  is  my  work,  Mynherr  Johannes  von  Schmidt;  and 
I  have  brought  you  here  to  show  it  to  you,  as  the  first  man  to 
whom  I  have  exhibited  it,  and  to  ask  you  whether  I  am  or  am 
not  an  artist?" 

The  dauber  was  not  a  fool.  He  knew,  to  use  a  modern 
phrase,  “  a  good  thing  when  he  saw  it.”  He  took  one  more 
look  at  the  marvel,  then  turned  and  grasped  the  hand  of  the 
young  man,  with  something  like  huskiness  in  his  voice,  as  he 
said : 

“It  is  the  most  glorious  piece  of  iron-work  in  the  world  ! 
The  man  who  has  wrought  it  is  an  artist  fit  to  have  worked 
with  Michael  Angelo.” 

“Is  it  worth  your  daughter?”  was  the  next  question,  a 
highly  practical  one. 

“A  thousand  times,  yes  !— take  her,  for  you  have  won  her.” 

“  Not  yet,  though  I  thank  you  for  the  admission.  Let  that 
iron-work  drink  the  sun  for  the  first  time,  while  I  show  you 
something  else.” 

The  dazed  painter  followed  him  back  through  the  rear  door 
of  the  shop,  and  up  a  flight  of  dark  and  narrow  stairs.  There 
was  the  smell  of  paint  in  the  room  of  bare  boards,  and  pots  of 
colors  and  jars  of  oil  stood  around  it.  In  the  middle  of  the 
room  stood  an  easel  covered  with  a  cloth.  Baengherz  threw 
off  the  cloth,  and  the  “  Descent  from  the  Cross,”  for  centuries 
now  the  pride  of  the  Antwerp  Museum,  showed  in  its  sorrow¬ 
ful  truth  of  drawing  and  sad  splendor  of  color.  The  painter 
stood  spell-bound  before  it,  until  again  aroused  by  the  voice 
of  the  young  man,  this  time  with  the  hand  laid  on  his  shoulder  : 

“That  I  have  just  finished;  and  I  am  glad  if  Annetchen 
von  Schmidt’s  father  likes  it.  Am  I  an  artist  ?" 


96 


O  VER  HALF  E  UROPE. 


The  reply  to  this  was  Johannes  von  Schmidt  falling  on  his 
knees  before  the  awful  nobility  of  the  Dead  Christ,  bowing 
his  head,  and  while  in  that  position  drawing  the  hand  of 
Quentin  Matsys  (Petrus  Baengherz  no  longer)  to  his  lips,  while 
he  muttered  in  a  voice  almost  broken  by  tears: 

“  That  should  teach  you  to  forgive,  my  son/  Forgive  me.  I 
did  not  know ;  1  could  not  understand.  It  is  for  me  to  offer 
my  daughter  to  you,  now,  if  you  will  accept  her.” 

Quentin  Matsys  did  accept  her,  quickly  enough,  and  they 
were  married  almost  immediately.  Great  painter  as  he  after¬ 
wards  became,  he  is  almost  always  called,  in  history  and  legend, 
the  “  Blacksmith  of  Antwerp.”  But  there  is  nothing  else 
that  he  did,  in  a  somewhat  long  life,  in  iron  or  upon  canvas, 
comparable  with  that  wondrous  canopy  of  hammered  iron 
which  stands  at  near  the  corner  of  Antwerp  Cathedral,  and 
beside  which  the  Governor  bored  the  Artist  with  the  story 
almost  in  the  words  here  repeated. 


PHILADELPHIA  MEDAL  OF  1876. 


ANTWERP  CATHEDRAL,  ART  AND  HISTORY. 

They  seem  to  have  the  sweetest  church  and  cathedral  bells 
in  the  world  in  Belgium,  which  may  be  the  reason  why  at 
Bruges  and  some  of  the  other  cities  they  indulge  in  the 
“carillons”  so  delighting  some  travellers  and  so  pestering 
others.  At  all  events,  the  Governor  and  the  Artist  (who  did 
not  always  agree)  agreed  that  the  bells  of  Antwerp  Cathedral, 
sounding  as  they  went  up  from  the  ship  to  the  great  building, 
were  among  the  sweetest  they  remembered — hoarsely  sweet, 
if  the  propriety  of  the  phrase  may  be  recognized,  and  suggest¬ 
ing  the  very  sound  in  Longfellow’s  poem,  when 

“ - The  great  bell  tolled  among  them,  like  the  chanting  of  a  friar.’’ 

The  forced  inspection  of  the  iron  canopy  of  Quentin  Matsys, 
and  the  forced  hearing  of  the  long  story  thereanent,  being 
over,  they  entered  the  Cathedral  (Notre  Dame),  and  found 
themselves  once  more  under  Gothic  arches  brown  with  age 
and  sacred  with  old  memories.  It  needs  scarcely  to  be  said 
that  service  was  going  on,  as  it  seems  always  to  be  in  the  great 
religious  houses  of  Catholic  countries,  proving  that  devotion 
is  not,  there,  as  in  the  Protestant  lands,  principally  a  thing 
only  of  the  Sabbath.  And  what  music  that  was,  whether  the 
hearer  was  able  to  associate  any  special  sacredness  with  the 
ceremony,  or  not!  The  great  organ  once  more  reminded  the 
Governor  of  those  days  in  which  he  heard  the  solemn  thunders 
rolling  through  the  arches  of  Strasbourg  and  Berne  ;  and  the 
priestly  voices  chanting  with  it  embodied  the  very  spirit  of 
the  religion  of  the  Middle  Ages,  of  which  the  Artist,  when 
reminded  of  the  fact,  said  that,  “then  it  appropriately  belonged 
to  the  middle  aged” — putting  his  own  gray  head  and  that  of 
his  companion  at  that  mild  figure  ! 

The  rows  of  side-chapels  of  Antwerp  Cathedral  are  by  no 
means  splendid,  in  comparison  with  many  others  ;  and  the  high 
altar  suffers  so  much  when  one  remembers  either  Notre  Dame, 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


at  Paris,  Strasbourg,  or  the  recklesslv-splendid  Constance, 
that  the  parallel  is  little  less  than  painful.  All  the  better  for 
devotion,  perhaps;  for  many  visits  to  the  great  European 
cathedrals,  during  service,  have  failed  to  show  any  greater 
devotion  among  the  attendance  than  on  this  occasion  was  ex¬ 
hibited  by  the  Catholic  Flemings. 

But  unquestionably  the  great  features  for  which  the  inside 
of  the  Cathedral  is  visited  are  the  paintings,  especially  of 
Rubens,  about  which  one  of  the  most  astounding  heresies  is 
now  to  be  uttered.  First  among  these  comes  what  is  called 
Rubens’  masterpiece,  the  “  Taking  Down  from  the  Cross,” 
otherwise  and  improperly  called  the  “  Descent  from  the 
Cross.”  The  picture  is  said  to  have  been  given  by  the 
painter  for  the  ground  on  which  he  built  his  house  in  the 
city  ;  and  so  highly  have  some  of  the  points  in  it  been  esti¬ 
mated,  that  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  (who  should  have  known, 
though  he  by  no  means  always  painted  well)  is  reported  to 
have  pronounced  the  Christ  of  this  composition  “  one  of  the 
very  finest  that  ever  was  invented,  with  correct  drawing, 
though  in  a  position  the  most  difficult  in  all  art  to  execute.” 
So  it  may  be  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Artist 
agreed  with  him.  But  the  Governor  begged  to  dissent,  and 
to  say  that  though  he  recognized  the  terrible  fiainf ulness  of 
the  picture,  he  by  no  means  thought  it  comparable  with 
others  of  the  works  of  the  same  master  in  the  Parisian 
Louvre  and  elsewhere.  So  of  his  “  Elevation  of  the  Cross,” 
in  the  north  transept  of  the  same  building,  his  “  Resurrection 
of  the  Saviour,”  and  his  “Assumption  of  the  Virgin.”  All 
show  the  pencil  of  the  great  master  ;  but  coming  away  from 
all  of  them,  the  impression  is  not  weakened  that  Rubens  was 
essentially  not  a  religious  painter,  and  that  no  labor  of  his 
in  that  direction  ever  told  so  well  for  his  genius,  whatever  it 
may  have  done  for  his  moral  nature,  as  in  his  historical  pic¬ 
tures  with  what  may  be  called  allegorical  fittings,  better 
shown  in  the  Louvre  and  in  the  collection  at  Munich  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  art-world.  There  is  a  picture  by 
Quentin  Matsys  here,  too,  but  it  seems  _to  be  of  a  period 
earlier  than  his  best  and  is  principally  valuable  for  his  name. 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


99 


But  if  there  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  picto¬ 
rial  glories  of  Notre  Dame,  no  question  exists  as  to  its  charm 
in  another  variety  of  art.  The  carved  pulpit  is  simply  magni¬ 
ficent  in  design  and  execution — possibly  with  only  St.  Gudule 
at  Brussels,  its  superior  ;  and  very  little  less  can  be  said  of 
the  Gothic  stalls  of  the  choir,  which  attract  the  eye  and  pro¬ 
voke  a  return  again  and  again  to  some  half-overlooked  and 
charming  detail. 

It  is  at  the  Museum,  not  far  from  the  Cathedral,  and  said  to 
have  been  formed  from  an  old  convent,  that  the  picture-world 
of  Antwerp  is  really  at  its  best.  Many  of  the  best  works  of 
Vandyck,  Rubens,  Jordaens,  Teniers,  Ruysdael  and  others  are 
there;  and  there  is  Quentin  Matsys’  “Descent  from  the 
Cross,”  already  spoken  of  in  the  last  previous  paper,  and  cer¬ 
tainly  alive,  after  nearly  four  hundred  years,  with  the  light  of 
genius  that  shone  on  it  at  birth,  with  woman’s  love  to  give  it 
direction.  But  that  and  all  other  pictures  in  the  really  great 
collection  go  down  before  a  masterpiece  that  for  once  no  one 
seems  disposed  to  dispute — the  “  Crucifixion,”  of  Antony 
Vandyck.  No  wonder  that  Scott  depicted  Cromwell  standing 
before  the  picture  of  Charles  I.,  by  the  same  hand  that  painted 
this,  and  acknowledging  that  for  once  the  painter  had  been 
able  to  depict  an  actual  life ,  on  which  he  dares  not  look.  The 
awfully  glorious  scene,  on  which  hang  all  the  best  hopes  of 
humanity,  has  never  elsewhere  been  so  portrayed  ;  description 
is  impossible  ;  and  truth  to  say  the  Governor  was  not  sur¬ 
prised  to  hear  the  Artist,  after  standing  enraptured  for  some 
minutes  before  it,  utter  a  formula  of  words  that  he  afterwards 
several  times  repeated  at  Munich  and  Florence  : 

“  It  is  of  no  use,  Governor  !  I  am  not  going  to  paint  any 
more  ;  and  when  1  go  home,  I  shall  burn  my  brushes  the  first 
thing.” 

(In  a  parenthesis.  He  did  not  burn  his  brushes,  though  he 
is  now  painting  very  little,  in  the  lack  of  any  incentive  to 
labor.) 

But  this,  once  more,  is  quite  by  the  way.  There  was  another 
religious  house  in  Antwerp  beside  the  Cathedral  of  Notre 


8 


100 


0  VER  II A  LF  E UROPE. 


Dame,  to  which  the  companions  took  their  way,  after  leaving 
the  Museum.  This  was  the  Church  of  St.  Jacques,  behind 
the  high  altar  of  which  (appropriate  place  for  one  who  had 
decorated  so  many  !)  Rubens  has  slept,  with  his  family,  since 
the  close  of  May,  1640,  marble-slabbed  under  what  was  once 
a  small  chapel  belonging  to  his  race.  Above  this  altar  hangs 
one  of  the  very  best  preserved  of  his  paintings,  the  “  Adora¬ 
tion  of  St.  Bonaventura,”  rendered  especially  interesting  by 
his  having  introduced  into  it  portraits  of  himself  (as  St. 
George),  his  grandlather,  father,  and  two  wives,  among  the 
adorers  of  the  I  nfant  Saviour  (and  may  we  not  say  the  Virgin  ?). 

But  enough  of  art,  of  this  character,  even  for  Antwerp. 
The  Hotel  de  Ville  is  said  to  have  some  fine  modern  historical 
frescoes ;  but  they  must  be  taken  upon  trust — as  must  the 
rumored  existence  of  some  of  the  houses  once  occupied  by 
Alva,  Parma,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  other  sharers  in  the 
old  city’s  history,  for  want  of  time  to  look  them  up  and  an  in¬ 
telligent  and  not-too-lying  guide  to  point  the  way  to  them. 
It  was  not  so  much  trouble  to  find  the  plain  old  house  of 
Rubens,  on  the  street  of  the  same  name,  and  to  think  of  the 
acres  of  designs  that  must  have  floated  through  the  brain  of 
the  great  painter,  under  that  roof — as  well  as  to  wonder 
whether  one  of  the  English  Dukes,  him  of  Newcastle,  who 
resided  here,  and  here  entertained  Charles  II.  during  his 
exile,  may  not  have  been  obliged  also  to  entertain  a  pretty 
numerous  family  of  fat  flying  cherubs,  the  embodiments  of 
those  the  dead  painter  had  so  plentifully  scattered  over  his 
canvases. 

Rubens  has  a  splendid  colossal  statue,  with  the  ever-mem- 
orable  broad  hat  and  feather,  in  the  Grand  Place;  and  the 
Governor,  who  has  a  natural  belief  in  avoirdupois,  remarked  to 
the  Artist  that  if  they  would  promise  him  something  like  that, 
in  America,  for  writing  better  books  than  Shakspeare,  excel¬ 
ling  Bonaparte  in  arms,  or  Metternich  in  diplomacy,  or  any 
little  thing  of  that  character,  he  thought  that  he  should  go  to 
work  at  once  and  do  it.  There  is  a  much  less  pretentious  statue 
of  Teniers  (the  exact  opposite  of  Rubens,  in  every  particular) 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


101 


in  one  of  the  squares,  the  name  of  which  does  not  occur; 
and  thus  Antwerp,  which  boasts  of  having  given  birth  to 
Rubens,  Vandyck,  Jordaens  and  Quentin  Matsys,  has  at  least 
“  statued  ”  two  of  them  and  well  “  pictured  ”  the  others. 

One  stands  with  somewhat  more  of  hating  respect  before 
the  Citadel  of  Antwerp  (part  of  the  noble  fortifications  which 
make  it  one  of  the  best  defended  cities  in  Europe)  when  re¬ 
membering  that  the  Duke  of  Alva  commenced  it  in  1568,  at 
the  moment  when  he  believed  that  his  own  foot,  and  that  of 
the  Spaniard  collectively,  were  permanently  on  the  neck  of 
the  Flemings.  It  is  as  stern  and  grim  as  that  old  cut-throat 
could  have  been,  and  seems  good,  with  its  immense  modern 
additions,  for  at  least  half-a-dozen  centuries  yet  to  come.  It 
stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Scheldt,  just  at  the  upper 
confines  of  the  city  ;  and  its  “  star”  of  batteries  is  so  arranged 
and  so  comprehensive  that  it  could  equally  well  sweep  city 
and  river.  Beside  it  is  the  Place  d’Arms,  the  Champ  de 
Mars  of  Antwerp ;  and  a  little  further  inland,  and  adjoining, 
the  Esplanade,  the  favorite  promenade  of  the  citizens.  The 
fortifications  do  not  end  with  the  Citadel,  however:  on  the 
opposite  bank,  a  little  below,  is  the  very  strong  Tete  de  Flan- 
dre  ;  still  farther  below,  on  the  same  side,  is  smaller  Fort  Aus- 
truwell  ;  and  below  the  city,  and  again  on  that  side  of  the  river, 
is  the  very  large  five-sided  Fort  du  Nord  :  the  whole  array  be¬ 
ing  quite  sufficient  to  frighten  away  an  intending  foe  less  per¬ 
sistent  than  the  French  in  their  long  leaguer  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago.  They  thoroughly  command  the  navigation  of  the 
Scheldt,  so  far  as  fortifications  can  do  so, — though  they  will 
probably  not  open  again  upon  a  vessel  in  the  river  for  many  a 
long  day.  For  the  days  of  Alva  are  long  past,  and - 

Here  the  reminder  comes  in,  that  quite  another  figure  than 
the  grim  Spaniard’s  might  just  as  reasonably  have  been 
expected  to  start  up  at  one  of  the  corners,  in  the  fanciful 
hint  of  the  previous  paper.  This  figure  would  have  been 
much  shorter  than  the  other,  and  stouter,  wearing  a  gray 
redingote  and  a  little  cocked  hat  over  a  shaven  face  super- 
naturally  handsome  arid  sad-looking.  It  would  have  been 


102 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


that  of  Napoleon  I.,  Emperor  of  the  French,  to  whom  Ant¬ 
werp  owes  it  that  she  has  recovered  something  of  what  she 
lost  through  the  cruelty  and  stupidity  of  the  Spaniard  ;  and 
one  is  not  quite  sure  that  a  statue  of  that  man  of  power  and 
mystery  might  not  well  have  place  on  one  of  the  public 
squares,  or  on  the  broad  Place  de  Mere,  the  wide  and  shaded 
principal  street,  rivalling  almost  any  other  in  Europe. 

For  why  ? 

Simply  because  the  Emperor,  whether  for  ends  selfish  to 
himself  or  not,  makes  no  difference — saw  and  recognized  the 
nobility  of  the  situation  of  the  city  on  the  Scheldt,  and  took 
means  to  make  that  knowledge  valuable.  Thousands  of  the 
most  skilful  artisans  and  the  most  enterprising  merchants 
drifted  away  from  her  during  and  following  the  persecutions 
of  Philip  II.,  and  Alva  ;  and  when  the  “  pacification  ”  with 
Spain  was  made  in  1679,  a  virtual  end  was  put  to  the  commer¬ 
cial  greatness  of  the  city,  by  closing  the  port  to  shipping  and 
making  it  a  mere  place  of  boats.  It  dwindled  then  and  there¬ 
after  to  a  mere  city  of  the  dilletanti,  famous  for  some  noble 
buildings  and  many  pictures,  and  with  nothing  more.  Napo¬ 
leon  saw  beyond  all  this,  when  for  a  time  it  formed  part  of  the 
great  French  First  Empire  ;  and  he  commenced  to  make  it  the 
rival  of  London  and  the  great  commercial  port  of  the  North. 
To  him  Antwerp  owes  many  of  her  noble  fortifications,  docks, 
yards  for  ship-building,  and  other  resources,  thanks  to  which 
so  much  of  the  prosperity  of  the  past  has  been  regained  and 
her  place  in  the  future  made  a  certainty.  Even  though  Bel¬ 
gium  remain  Belgium,  and  the  foot  of  the  Frenchman  no  more 
tread  the  streets  of  Antwerp  as  a  master  (as  no  such  foot  will 
— much  more  likely  the  German),  why  should  not  the  First 
Emperor  have  a  statue,  for  gratitude  ?  And  why  should  the 
Governor  not  meet  his  grave  shade  at  the  corner  of  a  street, 
quite  as  likely  as  that  of  the  fierce  and  relentless  Alva? 

It  is  less  than  an  hour’s  ride  over  the  fertile  fields  of  Flan¬ 
ders  (so  much  a  better  name  than  Belgium,  that  the  pen 
adheres  to  it  in  spite  of  modern  geographical  designations), 
less  than  an  hour’s  ride  to  that  other  old  Flemish  capital 


OVER  TO  ANTWERP. 


103 


which  divided  with  Antwerp  the  glory  of  the  past  and  divides 
with  it  the  growing  prosperity  of  the  present — Brussels.  And 
thither  the  two  companions  took  their  way,  with  the  one  city 
thus  literally  “  skimmed  ”  and  little  more. 


BefiLi @r 


ZXIII- 

GODFREY  DE  BOUILLON,  aND  BRUSSELS. 

It  is  indicated,  in  another  connection,  in  this  volume,  that 
some  one  person  or  thing  may  virtually  take  possession  of  a 
city,  to  the  mind  of  the  traveller — so  that  thereafter  the  thing 
contained  will  be  first  remembered,  and  the  place  containing 
it  left  to  be  afterwards  recalled.  Such,  duly  shown,  is  the  case 
with  Cologne  and  its  Cathedral ;  and  such,  though  to  a  less 
extent,  is  the  case  with  Brussels  and  the  statue  of  the  Great 
Crusader,  standing  in  bronze  in  the  Place  Royale.  The  Gov¬ 
ernor  remembered  this,  most  closely  oi  all,  when  he  left  Brus¬ 
sels  after  a  first  visit,  though  delighted  with  everything  about 
the  sunny  and  handsome  Belgian  capital  ;  and  he  remembered 
it  first,  after  a  second,  and  when  a  score  of  other  attractions 
had  contended  with  it  for  mastery. 

Perhaps  no  man  in  history  has  been  more  truly  honored 
than  Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  Duke  of  Brabant,  leader  of  the 
Great  Crusade  and  King  of  Jerusalem.  Perhaps  no  man  has 
better  deserved  his  celebrity,  if  that  is  true  which  is  told  of 
him — that  no  success  made  him  arrogant,  no  failure  despond¬ 
ent,  no  injustice  to  himself  unjust  to  others ;  that  he  fought 
alone  to  free  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  dominion  of  the 
Saracen,  without  any  hope  or  thought  of  personal  or  territorial 
aggrandizement;  and  that,  when  elected  King  of  Jerusalem,  by 
the  unanimous  voices  of  the  knightly  host  accompanying  him, 
he  refused  to  wear  a  kingly  crown  in  the  city  where  his  Mas¬ 
ter  had  worn  one  of  thorns,  and  adhered  to  the  helmet  of 
battle  as  the  true  head-covering  of  the  Warrior  of  the  Cross. 
This  is  a  wondrous  character  ;  and  yet  it  would  seem  to  have 
had  a  sure  foundation  in  history  and  reputable  legend.  The 
testimony  of  warriors  who  by  no  means  agreed  among  them¬ 
selves,  seems  to  have  been  unanimous  as  to  the  sterling  worth 
and  goodness  of  “  Ic  bon  Godcfroi  ”  ;  and  how  strong  an  influ¬ 
ence  he  left  upon  the  mind  of  the  times  following  him  within 


BE  BOUILLON  AND  BRUSSELS 


1C5 


a  few  centuries,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Tasso,  in  the  “Geru- 
saiemme  Liberata,”  one  of  the  works  justly  comparable  with 
the  “  Iliad  ”  and  infinitely  in  advance  of  “  Paradise  Lost,” 
while  showing  the  weaknesses  and  at  times  the  vices  of 
Rinaldo,  of  Tancrcd,  of  Raymond,  of  Boehemond,  and  all  the 
other  persons  of  that  wondrous  knightly  array,  —  has  not  one 
word,  except  of  reverance  and  devotion,  for  the  native  of  an¬ 
other  land  than  his  and  the  ruler  of  still  another.  It  would 
seem  that  nature  had  for  once  done  a  work  almost  perfect ; 
and  in  such  a  behalf,  others  than  the  Governor  will  forgive 
those  who  raised  his  most  impressive  statue  in  the  most  con¬ 
spicuous  spot  of  the  whole  city  of  Brussels. 

The  statue,  comparatively  modern,  of  bronze  and  slightly 
colossal  size,  by  Simonis,  is  a  noble  one,  and  worthy  the  fame 
it  commemorates  of  the  man  whose  name  belongs  to  his  birth¬ 
place  (French  Boulogne-sur-Mer — “  Bouillon,”)  but  all  whose 
glory,  not  of  the  Crusades,  is  the  property  of  his  ducal  Flan¬ 
ders.  In  the  lull  panoply  of  his  approach  to  the  Holy  City, 
flat-helmed  and  with  the  truncheon  of  command,  he  bears  the 
flag  of  the  Crusade  sweeping  down  on  his  shoulder,  while  his 
horse,  spurred  forward,  but  half  recoiling,  is  in  one  of  the  best 
sculpturesque  attitudes  for  displaying  the  nobility  of  his  Ara¬ 
bian  breed.  No  statue  in  Europe  more  closely  enchains  the 
eye  ;  none  is  longer  or  more  admiringly  remembered  ;  perhaps 
partially  for  this,  as  well  as  for  the  great  glory  of  the  knightly 
Crusader,  it  holds  pre-eminence  among  the  attractions  of  the 
Belgian  capital. 

“Apres  moi,  le  deluge !  ”  is  said  to  have  remarked  a  French 
King  who  cared  very  little  for  the  future  ;  and  Duke  Godfrey, 
if  sensitive  on  the  subject  of  the  Governor's  next  rumina¬ 
tion,  might  say  :  “Apres  mot,  Is  arbres!”  For  the  next  thing 
in  Brussels  is  certainly  a  cluster  of  such  trees  as  only  three 
or  four  other  places  on  earth  can  hope  to  rival.  The  Elms  of 
New  Haven  make  half  the  glory  of  that  New  World  uni¬ 
versity-town,  and  they  have  never  been  excelled  in  their  size 
and  arching  glory ;  those  of  Versailles  are  worthy  peers, 
sometimes  creating  a  doubt  whether  they  are  not  actually  the 


106 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


finer;  and  there  are  rows  of  those  arboreal  incarnated  splen¬ 
dors,  along  the  grounds  of  Lord  Leigh,  on  the  road  between 
Kenilworth  Castle  and  Coventry,  with  no  cause  to  vail  their 
proud  heads  to  any  others  on  the  globe.  But  here,  in  the 
Royal  Park  of  Brussels, — here  are  the  worthy  peers  of  any 
others  yet  named.  Grand  in  trunk,  glorious  in  arch  and  foli¬ 
age,  and  perfect  in  alignment,  they  stand  along  those  avenues, 
equally  forming  cathedral-arches  whether  swept  at  the  length 
of  the  square  paths  or  diagonally ;  and  they  make  the  heart 
literally  ache  with  the  sense  of  their  perfection,  as  the  sun 
shimmers  through  their  leaves,  and  the  birds  twitter  and  sing 
in  the  branches,  and  the  swans  come  out  from  their  haunt  in 
the  little  lake  to  strut  ungainly  along  the  well-kept  walks  be¬ 
neath  them.  Yonder,  just  across  the  Place  du  Palais,  is  the 
Royal  Palace,  a  noble  plain  building,  and  worthily-enough 
filled  by  the  second  Leopold  who  has  reigned  in  Belgium  ;  but 
what  is  the  Palace,  which  any  educated  set  of  men  could 
build,  and  any  ignorant  set  of  men  could  destroy,  to  those 
trees,  “God's  first  temples,”  ay,  and  His  palaces,  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word,  giving  new  shapes  of  beauty  to  the  earth 
at  every  wave  of  their  branches,  smiling  in  the  sunshine, 
braving  the  storm,  and  standing  sentry  over  the  mere  watch- 
tick  rise  and  fall  of  the  centuries  ! 

Having  thus  rhapsodized,  let  us  descend  the  hill  (a  some¬ 
what  steep  one,  though  only  a  little  distance  from  the  Park 
and  the  Palace  Royal)  to  the  Cathedral,  for  once,  much  better 
known  as  St.  Gudule.  It  is  a  noble  church,  said  to  have  been 
founded  in  ioiq,  and  restored  on  the  outside  (actually  “  re¬ 
stored,”  they  say — not  built  over  and  differently)  in  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  is  of  chaste  Gothic  construc¬ 
tion,  and  has  two  square  towers  creating  something  of  the 
impression  of  those  of  Notre  Dame  at  Paris,  though  much 
lighter  and  less  oppressive.  They  have  the  reputation — those 
towers- — of  showing  Antwerp  distinctly  from  their  tops.  Very 
likely:  neither  the  Governor  nor  the  Artist  went  up  to  ascer¬ 
tain  ;  nor  did  they  call  for  the  weighing  of  the  great  bell,  said 
to  have  a  ponderosity  of  nearly  eight  tons.  They  merely 


DE  BOUILLON  AND  BRUSSELS. 


ior 


took  an  admiring  survey  of  the  whole  building,  from  without, 
classing  it  with  the  best  of  the  great  religious  houses  so  freely 
strown  over  the  world  ;  and  then  they  went  within,  to  see 
many  things  worth  remembering,  and  one  thing  so  overpower- 
ingly  admirable  that  the  Artist,  who  was  not  in  the  habit  of 
making  like  confessions,  said  that  his  pencil  was  not  equal  to 
the  task  of  drawing  it,  with  opportunity  and  an  hundred 
years  for  the  work. 

This  was  the  carved  ivooden  pulpit — so  immeasurably  supe¬ 
rior  to  anything  that  Grinling  Gibbons  ever  did,  that  it  takes 
rank  at  once  as  the  very  best  thing  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  and  must  always  henceforth  be  referred  to  as 
the  basis  of  comparison  when  anything  notable  of  the 
class  comes  into  view.  For  these  life-size  figures  of 
Adam  and  Eve,  in  the  “Expulsion  from  Paradise,”  by  good 
old  Dutch  Verbruggen,  which  forms  its  subject, — and 
the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  forming  the  support  of  the  pulpit  — 
and  Virgin  and  Child  at  the  top,  the  former  preparing  to 
bruise  the  head  of  the  Serpent  with  the  Cross — these  are  so 
wonderful  in  their  naturalness  of  form  and  ease  of  handling, 
that  no  touch  seems  wanting,  and  any  additional  one  could 
only  mar  what  is  nothing  less  than  perfect.  As  the  very 
highest  development  of  the  capacity  of  wood,  this  work  is  far 
beyond  criticism  ;  and  one’s  mind  almost  aches  with  the 
thought  that  such  works  are  done,  and  the  great  workmen  go 
away,  and  fall  asleep,  and  often  even  their  very  names  are  for¬ 
gotten.  Something  else  than  the  capacity  of  wood,  too,  this 
pulpit  tests,  occasionally:  in  the  visit  of  the  Artist  and  the 
Governor,  it  brought  out  a  manifestation  of  reverence  in 
the  former,  very  touching  and  quite  worth  putting  upon  record. 

“Well,  I  don’t  think  that  I  have  ever  made  such  a  row 
over  that  little  contretemps  in  the  Garden,  as  some  others,” 
placidly  said  the  man  of  pictures.  “  Now  I  am  going  a  little 
further,  if  your  exquisite  propriety  does  n't  mind.” 

“  As  how  ?  ”  sententiously  asked  the  Governor. 

“  Why,  just  to  the  extent  of  saying  that  I  am  rather  glad  it 
occurred,”  was  the  reply.  “  For  if  there  had  been  nothing  of 


108 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


the  kind,  or  nothing  of  the  kind  recorded,  there  would  have 
been  no  such  pulpit  as  this  for  St.  Gudule  ;  and  Adam  and 
Eve  may  go  out  willingly  for  all  me,  for  the  sake  of  such  a 
representation.” 

“  In  which  expression  of  opinion  it  is  very  well  that  you 
did  not  indulge,  in  any  language  capable  of  being  understood, 
in  the  days  when  St.  Gudule  was  entirely  ruled  by  Rome  and 
the  Inquisition  ;  for  j'ou  would  have  been  burned  for  irrever¬ 
ence  and  blasphemy  —  and  very  nearly  deserved  what  you 
got,”  commented  the  Governor,  with  an  internal  chuckle  of 
satisfaction. 

St.  Gudule  has  some  splendidly  painted  windows,  in  which 
the  pencils  of  Florens  (a  painter  of  whom  very  little  has  been 
heard)  and  Roger  Van  der  Weyde  (one  of  whom  every  art- 
student  knows)  seem  to  have  taken  part.  From  the  former, 
the  “Last  Judgment,”  in  the  great  window  of  the  Cathedral, 
comes  ;  and  from  the  latter,  the  “  Miracles  and  the  Sacra¬ 
ment,”  only  less  attractive  and  wonderful. 

It  is  almost  incredible,  but  the  Artist,  who  was  “  saving  him¬ 
self”  for  Munich  and  Florence,  did  not  so  nearly  overwhelm 
his  unfortunate  companion  at  the  Palace  of  the  Fine  Arts, 
otherwise  known  as  the  Bibliothique  and  M  useum,  as  the  victim 
had  naturally  expected.  This  double  collection  holds  a  great 
rank  in  the  world,  and  deserves  it  ;  while  the  old  palace  (not 
far  from  the  Place  Royale)  in  which  the  treasures  are  gathered, 
is  full  of  memories  of  the  old  Spanish  and  Austrian  governors, 
who  long  made  it  their  residence.  Many  of  the  pictures  once 
belonging  to  the  royal  family  of  Holland,  and  sold  off  by  one 
of  the  kings  who  had  grown  tired  of  them  and  wanted  money, 
are  here  ;  and  there  are  several  Rubenses,  and  Vandycks,  and 
indeed,  specimens  of  nearly  every  great  painter  before  the  pres¬ 
ent  century  ;  and  so  much  said,  the  level  is  easily  understood — 
a  respectable  one,  almost  a  high  one,  not  really  a  great  one. 
The  Library,  a  really  splendid  one,  is  said  to  contain  200,000 
volumes — too  many  for  any  one  place,  at  the  present  length 
of  man’s  life;  and  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  (always 
a  bore,  except  to  some  comparative  student  or  an  idle  man)  is 
said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in  Europe. 


DE  BOUILLON  AND  BRUSSELS. 


109 


It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  after  St.  Gudule,  none  of 
the  other  religious  houses  of  Brussels,  though  they  were  many 
and  with  only  a  few  less  “  Saints  ”  than  belonged  to  churchly 
Cologne,  attracted  the  wandering  steps  of  the  companions. 
No ;  leaving  the  Royal  Park,  they  had  become  aware  of  a  line 
of  railway  cars,  bearing  on  their  sides,  with  certain  other 
“  hails,”  the  name  of  the  Bois  du  Cambre,  known  even  to  the 
neophyte  visitors,  to  be  the  great  Park  of  Brussels,  and  re¬ 
ported  to  be  one  of  the  largest  and  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
European  world  (Central  Park  and  Boston  Common  for  once 
left  out  of  the  question).  Accordingly,  they  took  one  of  those 
railway  carriages,  very  like  New  York  in  theirgeneral  arrange¬ 
ment,  except  that  they  managed  two  “  classes  ”  for  the  two 
different  styles  of  riders,  and  went  out  to  it  by  a  very  pleasant 
road,  most  of  the  way  planted  with  double  rows  of  trees  at  the 
sides  (a  la  boulevard)  with  foot-walks  between  them.  And 
they  emerged  from  the  car  at  the  gateway  of  the  Bois  du 
Cambre,  perhaps  three  miles  from  the  Place  Royale  and  the 
centre  of  the  city — to  enter  therein,  and  to  see  such  an  actual 
forest,  splendidly  kept  and  well  regulated,  as  might  vainly  be 
searched  for  elsewhere  on  the  continent.  If  ever  wildness  is 
trained  to  consort  with  beauty  without  sacrificing  itself  or  de¬ 
stroying  the  other,  then  is  it  to  be  found  in  the  Bois  du  Cambre, 
formed  during  the  last  twenty  years  out  of  a  section  of  the 
old  Forest  of  Soignes  which  formed  so  fatal  a  part  of  the  bat¬ 
tle  field  of  Waterloo  to  Napoleon.  In  no  other  park  of  any  of 
the  great  cities  are  there  such  deeply  shaded  roads,  such  bosky 
dells,  such  haunts  for  the  most  lonely  solitude,  even  within  a 
few  hundred  yards  of  a  crowded  thoroughfare  and  in  the  im¬ 
mediate  vicinity  of  a  great  city.  The  trees  are  numberless, 
among  the  tops  and  branches  of  which  roared  and  thundered 
the  sounds  of  the  cannon  that  day  decidingthe  fate  of  Europe  ; 
and  one  can  scarcely  avoid  listening,  if  the  ominous  echo  has 
all  rolled  away.  And  one  may  wander  on  and  on,  deeper  and 
deeper  into  the  veritable  forest,  always  on  well  kept  roads, 
but  seeing  and  hearing  no  one  except  now  and  again  a  rider 
on  horseback  or  a  party  in  a  carriage — on  and  on,  deeper  and 


110 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


deeper  into  the  forest  of  grand  old  trees  and  dusky  dells,  un¬ 
til  the  world  seems  all  left  behind,  and  the  question  whether 
one  is  not  lost  and  can  ever  get  back  again  to  the  gateway  and 
to  Brussels,  becomes  worth  considering. 

This  by  no  means  of  all  thisgreat  pleasure-ground.  There  is 
a  Casino,  not  far  within  the  gate,  where  the  cooling  prepara¬ 
tions,  and  eke  the  cooling  drinks,  of  the  hot  summer,  may  be 
procured  in  plenty  and  excellence  ;  and  the  Governor  and  his 
companion  remember  well  the  procurement  of  certain  straw¬ 
berries  there,  worthy  of  Merrie  England  at  the  period  of  the 
“Queens,”  and  of  certain  potables,  dimly  suspected  to  be 
champagnes,  marvellously  well-cooled  and  satisfactory.  Then, 
at  certain  parts  of  the  grounds,  where  the  shade  is  not  so 
heavy  as  to  produce  absolute  gloom,  are  actual  pleasure- 
grounds  of  the  people,  to  which  they  resort  with  quite  as 
much  freedom  as  to  any  American  haunt  of  the  same  charac¬ 
ter,  and  where  what  we  suppose  to  be  the  “students”  and 
“  grisettes  ”  corresponding  to  those  of  Paris,  take  their  enjoy¬ 
ment  with  a  hilarity  to  which  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  could  never 
pretend. 

“And  now,  with  this  glimpse  of  the  Bois  du  Cambre,  and 
being  so  near  the  edge  of  the  field  of  Waterloo,  in  the  actual 
girth  of  the  Forest  of  Soignes,  did  you  go  on  to  the  great 
battle  fie'ld  ;  or  did  you  prefer  to  take  the  English  Coach  and 
make  the  daily  excursion,  with  guard  and  horn  and  guides 
and  all  the  appliances  ?  ” 

To  this  supposable  question,  and  one  very  often  asked  of 
the  visitor  to  Brussels,  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  jointly, 
and  each  for  himself,  answer,  that  they  not  only  did  not  go  to 
the  battle  field  of  Waterloo,  but  had  no  wish  to  do  so.  That 
they  consider  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  all  things  considered, 
as  having  been  rather  a  mistake,  at  least  on  the  part  of  some 
of  the  minor  providences.  That  they  have  no  interest  what¬ 
ever  in  the  ugly  old  chateau  of  Hougomont,  the  common¬ 
place  farm  of  La  Ilaye  Sainte,  or  the  overgrown  mound  on 
which  stands  the  belligerent  Belgian  Lion.  That,  on  a  certain 
morning,  which  need  not  be  specified,  they  even  stood  on  the 


BE  BOUILLON  AND  BRUSSELS. 


Ill 


Place  Royale  and  saw  that  Englisii  Coach  drive  away — four- 
horsed,  guarded,  horned,  filled  and  covered  with  delighted 
passengers,  who  for  the  time  had  a  little  England  in  Belgium, 
and  who  were  going  to  hear  stories  told  over  again,  that  had 
much  better  be  buried,  by  pretenders  who  knew  nothing  what¬ 
ever  of  the  battle,  and  to  buy  buttons  picked  up  on  the 
battle  field  that  were  really  made  last  year  at  Birmingham. 
And  that  there  and  then,  with  no  disrepect  whatever  to  the 
memory  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  really  one  of  the 
world’s  greatest  warriors,  they  mutually  agreed  that  the  afore¬ 
said  world  had  had  about  enough  of  that  dead  issue,  and  lifted 
up  their  voices  and  followed  that  coach  with  one  joint  and 
sonorous  “  Bah  !”  which  meant  a  great  many  other  disgusted 
words  all  rolled  up  into  one. 

“What!  tired  of  history,  then,  old  Governor? — You,  of  all 
men  ?  ”  Another  question  to  be  answered. 

No  ;  not  tired,  by  any  means,  but  disposed  to  pick  out  the 
special  illustrations  desired — that  is  all.  For  the  Artist  and 
the  Governor  did  both  go,  reverently  and  with  sad  interest,  to 
the  Old  Parliament  House,  on  the  Grand  Place — the  old  vice¬ 
regal  and  imperial  residence,  with  reminiscences  of  that  inev¬ 
itable  but  always  interesting  Alva,  of  Maria  Theresa  in  a  later 
day,  &c. ;  and  in  front  of  it  the  fine  statuary  group  of  Counts 
Egrnont  and  Hoorn,  on  the  very  spot  where  they  were  treach¬ 
erously  beheaded  by  Spanish  Philip  II.,  after  submission  in 
good  faith,  in  defiance  of  the  advice  of  William  the  Silent, 
Prince  of  Orange,  whom  the  astute  Philip  failed  to  catch, 
and  who  not  being  caught,  the  yet  more  astute  Cardinal 
Granvelle  said,  that,  “  If  you  have  not  caught  that  silent  fish, 
then  is  all  your  fishing  for  nothing  ! And  they  did  admir¬ 
ingly  visit  the  magnificent  old  Hotel  de  Ville,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  same  square,  with  an  open-work  tower,  very  high, 
and  quite  as  elaborate  and  lace-work-y  as  that  of  the  Cams- 
dral  of  Strasbourg,— and  within,  very  old  rooms,  with  histori¬ 
cal  portraits  and  tapestry,  and  a  splendid  modern  banqueting- 
hall,  with  the  keys  of  the  city  on  a  golden  salver.  And - 

But  no — the  next  visit,  and  nearly  the  last,  had  nothing  to 


112 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


do  with  history  ;  it  belonged  to  poetry.  It  was  to  the  old  house 
on  the  corner  of  two  streets  near  the  places  last  named  (what 
matter  for  the  titles  ?),  on  the  first  floor  of  which  the  Duchess 
of  Richmond  gave  the  celebrated  ball  on  the  night  before 
Waterloo.  The  incident  was  of  little  or  no  consequence  ;  but 
Byron  saw  in  it  something  picturesque  and  memorable,  and 
that  description  which  has  rung  round  the  world  was  the 
result : 

‘  There  was  a  sound  of  revelry  by  night, 

And  Belgium’s  capital  had  gathered  then 
Her  beauty  and  her  chivalry,”  &c. 

Not  because  it  had  anything  to  do  with  Waterloo — no  ;  but 
because  Byron  wrote  of  it — wrote  of  it  with  the  magnificence 
of  genius,  and  so  immortalized  both  the  event  and  the  respecta¬ 
ble  old  house  through  which  rung  those  strains  of  merry  music 
so  soon  to  be  changed  to  the  booming  of  cannon  and  the 
struggles  of  the  mightiest  of  men  in  the  dying  throes  of  his 
power. 

This  would  be  enough  of  Brussels,  but  for  the  fact  that  the 
Artist  discovered,  in  one  corner  of  the  Royal  Park,  a  hand¬ 
some  half-open  building,  and  a  garden  surrounding  it— Waux 
Hall — one  of  the  favorite  evening  resorts  of  the  Bruxellois. 
And  that  he  dragged  the  Governor  there,  to  hold  him  during 
an  evening  of  fine  music  and  very  pleasant  performance,  to  a 
crowd  who  occupied  some  hundreds  of  chairs  under  the  noble 
trees  with  the  starlight  shimmering  through  them.  And  that 
they  left  Brussels  the  next  morning,  with  that  music  still  ringing 
in  their  ears,  and  each  repeating  what  they  had  more  than 
once  said  to  each  other  during  the  satisfactory  sojourn — that 
Brussels  was  one  of  the  very  handsomest  cities  on  the  globe, 
for  visit  or  residence, — with  admirable  side-hill  location,  pure 
air,  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  and  many  of  the  lux¬ 
uries  and  splendors  of  the  modern,  yet  with  a  subtle  and  all- 
pervading  aroma  of  the  antique  leavening  the  whole  and  fill¬ 
ing  the  very  sense  of  satisfaction. 


: siv. 


AIX-LA-CHAPELLE  AND  THE  POULLINER  WALD- 

CHEN. 

The  Artist  and  the  Governor  reached  Aix-la-Chapelle,  from 
Brussels  and  Liege,  on  their  way  to  the  Rhine,  with  their 
minds  heavily  charged  with  the  historical,  and  everything  in 
life,  dating  back  less  than  two  or  three  centuries,  of  very 
little  consequence  indeed.  They  had  become  “  rarefied,”  so  to 
speak,  with  history  and  romance,  so  that  they  presented  some 
of  the  conditions  of  a  changed  atmosphere  exhibiting  that 
special  state.  And  if  anything  in  the  following  relation  should 
chance  to  be  at  all  mysterious  and  unaccountable,  the  expla¬ 
nation  must  be  found  in  this  “  rarefaction.”  Any  suggestion 
that,  in  the  circumstances  about  to  be  related,  either  of  them 
was  drunk,  will  be  indignantly  denied,  and  in  point  of  fact  re¬ 
sented.  If  long  lives  of,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  do  not  supply  sufficient 
guaranty  of,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  then  the  case  is  certainly  one  de¬ 
manding  (the  remainder  understood). 

From  Brussels,  by  Liege.  But  not  merely  through  that  fine 
old  Flemish  city  without  stopping.  They  made  a  halt  of  some 
hours  there  ;  and  there  the  Artist  made  and  announced  his 
wonderful  discovery  for  all  future  ages — that  the  name  of 
Belgium  is  merely  a  contraction  of  “  Bellgingleunr  ” — all  the 
bells  throughout  the  kingdom  being  kept  in  a  constant  state 
of  melodious  but  rather  tiresome  clang.  They  went  to  the 
Liegeois  Church  of  St.  Jacques,  to  see  a  very  fine  organ-loft, 
and  a  noble  series  of  alto-relievos  of  the  Crucifixion,  by 
Halkin  and  Thomas,  only  completed  in  1865  ;  and  to  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Paul,  to  hear  the  saying  of  mass  by  the 
Bishop  of  Liege,  and  to  see  the  grand  carved  oak  pulpit 
(modern),  very  fine  pictures  of  the  “  Assumption  ”  and 
“Ascension,”  splendid  windows  (also  modern),  and  wood¬ 
carving  and  brass  work  generally  of  the  highest  order  of 
excellence  ;  and  to  the  old  Palace  of  the  Prince  Bishops  of 


114 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


Liege,  to  see  the  remains  of  a  picturesque  old  fountain  in  the 
quadrangle,  and  marvellous  rows  of  old  Roman  and  Egyptian 
columns,  and  the  building  itself,  high-roofed  and  picturesque, 
and  so  steeped  with  recollections  of  Scott’s  “Quentin 
Durward  ”  that  William  de  la  Marck  seemed  likely  at  any 
moment  to  step  out  and  order  the  intruders  to  execution  or  a 
dungeon  ;  and  to  the  top  of  the  Montague  St.  Martin,  to  catch 
the  noble  view  over  the  city,  the  winding  Meuse,  and  all  that 
strange  panorama ;  and  to  see  the  spirited  equestrian  statue  of 
Charlemagne,  showing  all  the  supposable  qualities  of  that 
mighty  monarch,  near  the  bank  of  the  Meuse,  with  the 
passing  steamers  and  activity  of  that  river  making  a  strange 
background  for  the  imperial  warrior  ;  and  then  to  a  rainy 
night  and  much  euchre  (unprofitable  to  the  Governor  and  no 
improvement  to  his  temper)  at  the  Hotel  de  Suede. 

After  which  they  came  on,  as  already  noted,  out  of  Belgium, 
over  the  borders  of  the  modern  Empire,  and  to  Aix,  perhaps 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  shrines  at  which  the  half-mad 
student  of  the  Middle  Ages  ever  paid  his  devotions. 

Need  it  be  said  that  they  went  first  to  the  Cathedral — quite 
as  predominant  as  that  of  Cologne,  though  for  a  very  different 
reason?  Not  because  of  its  grandeur,  which  is  absolute  ;  or 
the  strange  blending  of  its  architecture,  which,  as  one  looks 
at  it  at  a  few  hundred  feet  distance,  seems  to  mix  all  the  styles 
of  all  countries  and  all  ages  ;  or  the  wonderfully  fine  altar, 
with  its  very  tall  lights  and  exceptional  impressiveness, — but 
because  in  the  stone  floor  is  a  large  flat  flag,  bearing  the  preg¬ 
nant  inscription,  “Carolo  Magno,”  and  showing  where,  be¬ 
neath,  they  set  the  dead  conqueror  in  his  imperial  chair,  with 
the  crown  on  his  brow  and  the  sceptre  and  ball  in  his  hands, 
and  the  good  sword  Joyeuse  by  his  side,  and  all  those  bribes 
against  neglect  and  decay  to  which  Death  pays  no  more  atten¬ 
tion  than  lo  the  rags  of  the  meanest  beggar.  They  knew  that 
the  body  of  the  Great  Emperor  had  been  removed  long  ago — 
or  at  least  parts  of  it — and  that  the  emblems  of  his  power 
had  been  scattered,  to  Rome  and  Vienna  and  a  dozen  of  other 
places;  and  yet  it  was  something  to  stand  above  what  had 


A1X-LA- CHAPELLE,  &c. 


115 


been  his  actual  tomb,  and  to  feel  creeping  around  them  the 
indefinable  impression  of  a  greatness  once  moving  the  whole 
world,  and  equally  compelling  that  world’s  fear  and  admiration. 
Perhaps  the  effect  of  the  occasion  was  not  diminished,  but 
rather  added  to,  by  the  fact  that  at  the  altar,  within  the  glare 
of  the  circular  row  of  lights  always  kept  burning  above  the 
tomb,  a  group  of  children  were  making  their  first  communion 
— babyhood  chattering  above  the  memorials  of  the  most 
declared  greatness  of  manhood,  of  things  more  weighty  than 
any,  other  than  themselves,  that  had  ever  engaged  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  the  great  brain  so  long  ago  dissolved  into  its  elements. 

There  are  certain  relics  and  memorials,  of  personages  well 
known  in  history  (sainted,  most  of  them),  which  are  brought 
out  and  exhibited  to  visitors  to  the  Cathedral,  once  in  every 
seven  years.  Why  with  that  space  between,  except  from  an 
application  of  the  old  Scripture  seven-year  period,  is  not 
explained.  They  were  last  shown,  they  say,  in  1874,  and  the 
last  time  previous  to  that,  when  the  great  crowd  of  Paris 
visitors  of  1867  were  pressing  into  Germany  and  up  the  Rhine. 
The  period  will  accordingly  arrive  again,  in  1881,  and  impatient 
seekers  after  the  hidden  and  the  mysterious  must  wait  with 
what  patience  they  may. 

But  scarcely  even  the  Cathedral  held  more  of  interest  than 
the  strange  old  Hotel  de  Ville  or  Rathhaus,  with  the  very 
atmosphere  of  antiquity  hovering  around  it ;  its  sharp  dormer 
windowed  roof,  front  with  two  stories  almost  solid  of  large 
square-headed  windows,  and  tower  at  either  end,  half  Saracen 
minaret  and  half  spire,  with  swelling  knobs  at  intervals. 
Nothing  could  possibly  be  more  picturesque  than  this  old  pile, 
of  which  the  western  tower  is  said  to  have  stood  since  the 
ninth  century,  as  part  of  the  old  Palace  of  the  Frankish  kings, 
wlrile  the  remainder  was  built  in  the  fourteenth  century — 
where  Charlemagne  was  born,  and  where  so  much  of  interest 
in  history  took  place  in  the  far  centuries.  But  all  the  main 
architecture  of  the  building  fades  into  nothing  in  face  of  some 
of  the  corner-pieces  of  the  towers,  as  incongruous  as  becoming, 
and  a  similar  corner-piece  rising  from  the  street  at  the  left 


9 


116 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


corner  of  the  front,  which  has  all  the  appearance  of  being  a 
rather  large  wasps’-nest  of  clay,  stuck  by  those  insects  at  the 
corner  of  a  country  barn.  Ungraceful?  No — quite  the  reverse. 
But  odd,  beyond  almost  anything  else  to  be  met  in  the  whole 
world  of  travel. 

In  front  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  is  a  fountain,  with  the  pre¬ 
dominant  Charlemagne  on  the  top  of  it  in  bronze,  with  sceptre 
globe  and  crown  ;  and  there  remains  a  very  fine  and  old  interior 
staircase,  up  the  steps  of  which  Charlemagne  is  believed  to 
have  clattered  his  iron  heel,  so  that  the  Governor  followed 
him,  under  the  impression  that  he  would  gain  courage  if  not 
dominion  thereby — it  may  be  well  to  say,  without  any  marked 
success. 

There  are  few  more  splendid  relics  of  the  mediaeval  than 
the  old  arched  hall  of  this  Hotel  de  Ville,  lately  restored, 
though  apparently  without  the  sacrifice  of  any  feature  of  the 
original.  Here  all  the  early  emperors  were  crowned  (with 
occasional  repetitions  at  Rome)  ;  and  here  are  some  splendid 
frescoes  of  Charlemagne’s  coronation,  his  victories  over  the 
Moors  in  Spain,  &c.,  leading  the  Artist  to  repeat  those  peri¬ 
odical  suggestions  of  his,  about  throwing  away  his  brushes 
and  pouring  out  his  colors  in  the  gutter.  Then  the  Council 
Chamber  shows  original  portraits  of  Charlemagne  ;  of  the 
one  man  who  followed  his  career  of  victory  most  closely,  but 
far  excelled  him  in  misfortunes — Napoleon  ;  of  Josephine  and 
Maria  Theresa,  &c.  In  the  street,  under  the  windows  of  the 
sacred  old  house,  during  this  examination,  a  bear-and-monkey 
show  was  going  on,  with  appropriate  music,  and  the  congruity 
was  delightful  !  And  when  they  came  out,  behold  almost 
under  the  windows  of  the  Rathhaus  was  a  market,  with  short- 
gowned  old  women  selling  almost  everything  in  the  way  of 
fruits  and  vegetables.  And  while  the  Governor  fixed  his  atten¬ 
tion  on  the  market  and  the  market  people,  and  tried  to  think 
them  a  few  hundreds  of  years  older  than  they  were,  the  Artist 
took  out  his  inevitable  note-book  and  commenced  sketching 
the  wasp-nest  annexe  already  spoken  of,  at  the  corner  of  the 
building.  And  the  Governor,  being  tired-,  discovered  an  up- 


A IX- LA- CHAPELLE,  &e. 


117 


turned  empty  basket  and  sat  down  upon  it.  And  when  he 
arose,  behold  the  Artist,  instead  of  sketching  the  tower  had 
sketched  him ,  on  the  basket,  with  some  suspicions  of  carica¬ 
ture.  And  the  market  people,  being  appealed  to  with  the  pic¬ 
ture  (in  dumb  show),  did  incontinently  laugh  and  clap  their 
hands,  as  at  something  pleasant  therein ;  though  as  to  what 
they  laughed  at  the  Governor  knoweth  not  to  this  day,  and 
he  believeth  that  the  Artist  did  surreptitiously  distribute 
among  them  certain  copper  coins  of  that  realm,  to  the  end  of 
producing  that  applause  for  himself,  and  that  laughter  at  the 
other,  aforesaid. 

There  are  baths  at  Aix,  and  the  Artist  and  the  Governor 
visited  them — on  the  outside,  not  having  any  occasion  for 
closer  acquaintance,  either  with  the  Kaiserbad  or  the  Kurhaus. 
Casually  the  Governor  remarked  to  his  friend,  that  though 
this  was  Aix,  and  had  baths  connected  with  it,  it  was  not  Aix- 
le-Bains  (in  Savoy),  adding  the  question,  whether  the  Artist 
thought  that  there  could  not  be  an  Aix  without  baths.  “  I 
should  think  that  there  ought  not  to  be  any  aches  without 
baths,  or  that  at  all  events  the  baths  would  be  very  good  for 
them,”  was  the  mysterious  reply,  which  may  need  some  ex¬ 
planation  to  the  reader,  but  is  not  very  likely  to  find  any. 

Here  follows  the  singular  feature  connected  with  the  visit 
to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  induced  the  statement  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  this  paper,  that  neither  of  the  parties  was 
dru.nk,  as  at  least  one  of  them  might  have  been  suspected  to 
be,  after  the  last  revelation.  On  the  way  from  Liege  the  two 
friends  encountered  a  Heidelburg  student  on  the  train,  with 
whom  they  entered  into  conversation  with  reference  to  the 
old  city  they  were  about  to  visit.  During  that  conversation, 
the  student  mentioned  the  existence,  at  a  short  distance  in 
the  suburbs  of  Aix,  of  a  singular  spot  named  the  Poulliner 
Waldchen  (or  Little  Wood  of  Paulina),  alleging  that  there  had 
once  been  buried  a  lady  of  that  name,  daughter  of  one  of  the 
Roman  Emperors,  and  that  interesting  remains,  monuments, 
&c.,  were  still  to  be  found  at  that  place.  Enough  of  the 
antique  and  singular  seemed  to  hover  round  the  locality  to 


118 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


attract  both  his  hearers — the  attraction  probably  added  to 
rather  than  diminished  by  the  fact  that  no  one  at  the  hotel  at 
Aix  appeared  to  know  anything  of  such  a  place  or  such  a 
name.  An  outsider  was  found,  eventually,  who  solved  the 
difficulty.  He  could  not  speak  English  or  French,  and  neither 
of  the  inquirers  could  speak  or  understand  German  ;  but  the 
information  was  asked  for  and  communicated — somehow.  "  Der 
Poulliner  Waldchen  ?  Oh,  Ja  !  ”  And  forthwith  he  gave  direc¬ 
tions  for  finding  it,  principally  with  his  eyes  and  hands.  At 
last  all  was  satisfactory,  and  the  explorers  took  the  direction 
indicated  (or  supposed  to  be  indicated).  The  sun  was  hot,  but 
the  suburbs  of  Aix  are  very  pleasant;  and  really,  for  a  time, 
the  walk  was  enjoyable.  The  birds  sang,  and  there  were 
flowers  in  the  meadows  bordering  the  road,  and  the  two  artis¬ 
tic  souls  were  delighted  equally  with  weather,  route  and 
errand.  Eventually  the  road  came  to  an  end,  and  a  mere  foot¬ 
path  formed  the  continuation,  reached  by  leaping  over  a  fence 
into  some  low  ground.  But  even  this  was  dry  and  firm,  and 
the  adventurous  explorers  pursued  their  way. 

Then  the  ground  grew  less  solid,  not  to  say  marshy,  and 
the  sun  in  the  heavens  blazed  intolerably.  “Artist,”  said  the 
Governor,  “  I  am  sweating  awfully.”  “  So  am  I,”  said  the 
Artist,  wiping  his  brow,  as  the  other  had  not  remembered  to 
do.  They  went  on.  The  ground  grew  more  marshy,  not  to 
say  quagmiry.  The  Artist  suggested  turning  back.  “What! 
and  not  see  the  Poulliner  Waldchen  !  ”  exclaimed  the  Gov¬ 
ernor.  “Perish  the  thought!  No — we  go  on.”  And  they 
went  on,  partially  in  a  different  direction  from  that  contem¬ 
plated,  for  the  foot  of  the  Artist  slipped  from  a  hummock,  and 
he  went  into  about  a  foot  of  blueish  water.  “  How  careless 
you  are  !  See  how  safely  /  go  !  ”  remarked  the  Governor,  as 
at  that  moment  he  slipped  and  went  into  bog  nearly  to  the 
knees.  “Ah,  yes ;  I  see!”  consolingly  sheered  the  Artist, 
who  was  the  next  moment  in  deeper  bog  than  his  friend.  Two 
minutes  more,  and  two  of  the  most  madly-perspiring  of  travel¬ 
lers  were  in  bog-mire  nearly  to  their  waists.  They  looked  at 
each  other,  and  smiled  grimly.  “  Shall  we  turn  back,  and  try 


AIX-LA-dllAPEL LE,  &c. 


119 


it  some  other  way?”  suggested  the  Governor.  “After  this? 
not  if  I  know  it ! — we  go  through,  now,  to  the  high  land  yonder, 
if  we  do  not  go  through  the  other  way !”  courageously 
answered  the  Artist. 

And  so  they  floundered  on,  at  various  depths  of  German 
bog  ranging  between  the  knees  and  the  waist.  And  their 
perseverence  was  rewarded  ;  for  they  came  to  higher  ground, 
and  to  a  fence,  on  which  the  Artist  put  his  hand,  to  leap  over, 
bui  suddenly  recoiled.  “What  is  it?”  asked  his  companion. 
“Oh,  nothing,  only  my  hand  slipped.”  The  Governor  put  his 
hand  on  the  fence,  anl  it  too  slipped— on  another  of  the 
hideous  blacx  slugs,  like  bloated  little  serpents,  one  of  which 
the  Artist  had  first  encountered.  At  that  juncture  one  of  the 
reptiles  laid  hold  of  the  Artist’s  hand,  as  he  tried  another  spot 
on  the  rotting  fence — laid  hold  and  held  until  shaken  and 
pulled  off.  Close,  examination  showed  that  the  wood  was 
literally  alive  with  those  hideous  crawling  things,  and  with 
inch-long  snails,  thrusting  out  their  horns.  The  situation  was 
becoming  exciting.  “How  do  you  like  this,  Governor?” 
inquired  the  Artist.  “  Magnificently !  never  was  better 
pleased  in  my  life  !”  was  the  reply,  the  Governor  at  that 
moment  making  another  clutch  at  the  fence,  falling  over  it, 
and  landing  in  a  clump  of  briars  that  entered  him,  if  not  “  at 
every  pore,”  certainly  at  very  many.  The  Artist  followed  ;  and 
they  were  at  last  beyond  the  troublesome  boundary,  the  mani¬ 
pulator  of  colors  having  spirit  enough  remaining  to  remark 
that  “  they  should  have  been  some  time  in  getting  over,  as  the 
job  was  a  sluggish  one.”  “Yes;  and  we  did  it  at  a  snail's 
pace,”  was  the  unscrupulous  reply. 

They  were  now  on  the  upper  side  of  the  fence  ;  and  beyond 
them  the  ground  rose  considerably,  with  a  clump  of  woods  at 
a  still  higher  point,  which  they  had  reason  to  believe  might 
be  the  Waldchen.  They  took  heart  of  grace,  repaired  damages 
to  the  very  slight  extent  of  pinning  up  a  torn  trouser  and 
knocking  off  a  little  of  the  drying  bog-mud,  and  prepared  to 
take  the  footpath  showing  blindly  upward.  But  at  this  mo¬ 
ment,  “Good  Lord  !”  exclaimed  the  Governor.  A  second 


120 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


later,  the  Artist  echoed  him,  with  variations.  For  they  were 
confronted  by  about  the  largest  and  the  most  formidable- 
looking  of  possible  dogs,  blocking  up  that  path,  and  seeming 
to  monopolize  the  whole  region.  His  jaws  were  hanging,  his 
eyes  were  red  and  bleary,  and  the  mane  on  his  neck  stood  up 
like  wire.  Whence  he  came  was  not  of  so  much  consequence 
as  when  he  would  go.  Neither  of  the  travellers  had  even  a 
stick  for  persuasion.  The  Governor  tried  conciliation,  and  ap¬ 
proached  him  with  a  “good  dog!”  in  trembling  English.  A 
growl,  and  a  snap.  The  Artist  tried  French  on  him  with  no 
better  result.  “What  the  deuce  will  we  do?  I  don’t  sup¬ 
pose  the  brute  understands  anything  but  German,  even  for 
‘fine  dog  ’  or  ‘get  out!’”  hoarsely  suggested  the  Governor. 
“  No,  I  suppose  not,”  answered  the  Artist,  who  wanted  to  take 
off  his  hat  and  mop  his  hot  head,  but  for  the  fear  that  the  mo¬ 
tion  might  not  at  that  moment  be  a  prudent  one.  At  last  a 
happy  thought  broke  over  that  speaking  face,  and  the  prob¬ 
lem  was  solved.  In  an  instant  the  Artist  had  turned  his  back 
to  the  dog,  dropped  his  lithe  form  nearly  double,  and  pre¬ 
sented  his  head  between  his  legs.  The  effect,  as  the  reporters 
say,  was  electric.  Only  a  single  glance  of  the  dog  at  that 
awful  apparition  of  a  man  with  no  head  where  it  ought  to  be, 
and  a  head  upside-down  between  his  legs,  was  too  much  for 
the  canine  mind.  The  brute  uttered  a  yell  of  dismay,  as  if  he 
had  been  severely  hit,  turned  tail,  and  was  off  over  the  hill 
with  the  velocity  of  a  greyhound.  The  Artist  straightened 
himself,  with  a  very  red  face  but  a  chuckle  of  satisfaction  in 
the  thought  that  the  schoolboy  trick  had  once  more  (as 
always)  proved  effectual ;  and  the  Governor  bemoaned  in¬ 
wardly,  “Why  didn’t  I  think  of  that!”  without  remembering 
that  “  doubling  up  ”  is  sometimes  a  shade  difficult  ! 

Then  they  went  on  up  the  path,  and  the  hill,  to  the  clump 
of  trees  visible  above,  and  found  the  Poulliner  Waldchen- 
There  was  an  old  entrance-way  of  what  seemed  to  have  been 
once  part  of  a  chapel,  with  some  sculptures  considerably  de¬ 
faced,  but  evidently  originally  fine  ;  there  was  a  Roman  monu¬ 
ment,  on  a  pedestal,  with  inscription  too  decayed  to  read  with 


AIX-LA  CIIAPELLE,  &c. 


121 


any  certainty  ;  and  a  little  distant,  in  a  sort  of  cave,  was  what 
might  once  have  been  a  sarcophagus — now  empty  and  de¬ 
serted.  Around  and  above  these  strange  remains,  which  had 
the  air  of  such  long  centuries,  fine  old  trees  cast  their  shade  and 
waved  in  the  light  summer  wind.  From  the  hill  the  view  was 
a  fine  one,  over  the  valley  stretching  away  to  Aix,  with  the 
city  rising  behind,  and  a  train  of  cars  passing  on  the  railway 
at  no  great  distance  ;  and  both  the  Artist  and  the  Governor 
had  an  idea  that,  whoever  Paulina  might  have  been,  she  had 
once  been  entombed  in  a  very  pretty  place,  and  should  have 
been  allowed  to  sleep  there  until  the  general  awakening. 

What  is,  or  was,  the  Poulliner  Waldchen  ?  Neither  Murray 
nor  Baedeker  says  anything  of  it;  and  repeated  inquiries  on 
the  part  of  the  two  persons  most  nearly  concerned,  have 
failed  to  secure  any  information,  or  to  find  any  one  who  had 
ever  seen  it.  Does  it  exist  at  all  ?  Or  is  it  one  more  of  those 
mystical  places  of  the  old  German  legends,  of  which  “  Ger- 
melshauser  ”  is  the  most  notable  instance,  having  no  reality 
and  only  discoverable  at  certain  times  and  by  certain  peculiar 
persons?  For  the  explanation  given  the  Governor,  not  long 
after,  cannot  be  accepted.  It  would  be  too  belittling,  after 
those  slugs,  and  that  bog-mud,  and  that  dog  !  But  here  it  is  : 

“  Poulliner  Waldchen  !  Bah — there  is  no  such  place  !”  said 
this  authoritative  informant.  ‘‘  Some  one  sent  you  on  a  fool's 
errand  ;  and  you  merely  saw  the  ‘  monument  ’  put  up  by 
the  government  on  that  hill  for  astronomical  or  geographical 
purposes.  Your  *  sarcophagus  ’  was  no  doubt  a  feeding- 
trough  that  had  been  used  for  sheep  or  pigs  ;  and  the  rest  of 
the  surroundings  are  all  the  result  of  an  unhealthy  imagina¬ 
tion.  I  wouldn’t  say  much  about  the  discovery,  if  I  were  you  !” 

And  so  nothing  more  will  be  said  on  the  subject — partially 
on  account  of  that  advice,  and  partially  because  there  is 
really  nothing  more  to  say. 


COLOGNE,  AND  COLOGNE  CATHEDRAL. 

Coming  into  London,  and  through  the  fashionable  part  of 
it,  in  a  carriage  some  years  since,  a  droll  observer,  taking  cog¬ 
nizance  of  the  statue  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  at  Hyde 
Park  corner,  characterized  it  as  “the  statue  of  a  cocked  hat.” 
Any  one  familiar  with  the  statue  in  question,  remembering 
the  degree  in  which  that  article  of  head-covering  really  does 
overshadow  the  figure,  must  be  amused  with  the  appositeness 
of  the  idea;  and  any  one  entering  Cologne,  and  intending  to 
deal  with  it  as  a  city,  finds  it  overshadowed  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner:  the  city  of  Cologne  is  a  Cathedral. 

What  was  said  half-drolly  over  the  grave  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren  :  “  Lie  heavy  on  his  bosom,  earth  ;  he  laid  such  weights 
on  thee  !”  might  with  equal,  or  even  greater  propriety,  have 
been  used  over  the  tomb  of  the  architect  of  the  Cathedral,  if 
his  identity  could  be  discovered  with  any  certainty.  For 
assuredly  no  other  mass  of  architectural  construction  on  the 
globe— St.  Peter’s,  at  Rome,  always  duly  considered — heaves 
itself  skyward  with  such  resemblance-in-difference  to  Mt.  Blanc 
in  the  natural  creation  ;  such  an  overwhelming  and  overpow¬ 
ering  and  yet  elevating  impression  on  the  poor  little  mortal 
who  stands  in  its  shadow.  “Can  mere  men,  such  as  myself, 
have  built  this  wondrous  aggregation  of  stone,  little  by  little? 
And,  if  so,  what  may  man  not  do,  given  enough  of  time  and 
sufficiently  favorable  opportunity  ?’’  Such  are  the  questions 
mentally  asked,  if  not  spoken  in  words,  by  many  an  enthusias¬ 
tic  thinker,  standing,  not  for  the  first  time  (for  no  man  can 
measure  it  at  first),  in  the  immediate  presence  of  this  glorious 
architectural  colossus,  so  all-engrossing  that  it  dwarfs  the  old 
historic  city  surrounding  it,  and  so  long  in  continuous  erec¬ 
tion  that  much  of  the  first  stone  has  crumbled  before  the 
whole  building  has  been  nearly  finished.  And  thus  one  of  the 
great  missions  of  architecture  is  accomplished,  in  raising  the 


COLOGNE  AND  CATHEDRAL 


123 


mind  of  man  to  a  better  appreciation  of  his  capacity  as  a  crea¬ 
ture,  and  thus  in  bringing  him  nearer  to  the  unapproachable 
height  of  the  Creator. 

The  “old  historic  city,”  Cologne  has  been  called  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  paragraph.  And  so  it  is,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the 
word.  Travellers  from  other  lands,  wandering  through  it 
when  the  heat  of  the  summer  has  intensified  all  the  foul  odors 
of  a  city  built  before  sewerage  was  known,  have  suffered  from 
its  fetid  atmosphere,  and  joined  in  the  cheap  wit  of  the  cry 
that  “  Cologne  water  was  invented  on  account  of  the  foul 
smells  of  the  city  of  its  origin.”  In  point  of  fact,  it  may  prob¬ 
ably  be  said  that  the  attaching  of  its  title  to  a  perfume,  and  the 
repetition  of  a  certain  name  (Jean  Marina  Farina,  said  to  be 
the  appellation  of  every  third  child  born  in  the  city,  with  an 
eye  to  future  business),  have  done  more  to  belittle  this  virtual 
Queen  of  the  Rhine  than  any  other  influence  could  have  done. 
To  be  known  as  a  depot  of  patent  medicines  or  druggists’ 
wares,  is  perhaps  not  the  very  highest  form  of  celebrity ;  and 
assuredly  Cologne  has  been  the  sufferer  by  the  association, 
even  if  its  atmosphere  has  been  occasionally  sweetened  by  the 
liquid  reality. 

No  badinage,  however,  can  truly  belittle  the  history  of  the 
capital  of  the  Rhenish  Provinces.  It  dates  from  very  nearly 
the  commencement  of  authentic  record:  it  has  scarcely 
ceased  in  the  addition  of  items  of  interest  up  to  this  day  of 
undervaluations.  This  German  Koln  (alternately  Cceln)  de¬ 
rived  its  name,  oddly  enough,  from  dropping  the  important 
part  of  its  Roman  designation,  Agrippina  Colonia ,  and  retain¬ 
ing  only  that  portion  which  marked  it  as  a  “  colony,” 
called  after  the  daughter  of  the  Emperor  Germanicus,  here 
born  and  cradled,  when  Germanicus  commanded  the  sixteen 
legions  keeping  “watch  on  the  Rhine.”  Throughout  the  Ro¬ 
man  dominion  of  Central  Europe  it  was  one  of  the  most  import¬ 
ant  places  in  their  occupancy  ;  in  all  the  stormy  days  of  the 
German  Empire  it  was  always  to  be  considered  and  often  felt, 
in  the  wealth  it  contained,  and  the  force  it  could  send  out  at 
need,  under  the  order  of  Archbishop  or  Elector;  and  in  more 


124 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


modern  days,  if  its  actual  position  in  the  new  German  Empire 
is  less  influential  than  that  of  Berlin  and  possibly  of  Frank¬ 
fort,  to  few  or  no  others  is  it  obliged  to  vail  a  crest  claiming  so 
high  an  antiquity  and  so  unbroken  a  prosperity  and  celebrity. 

But  to  return  to  the  Cathedral,  proving  once  again  what 
has  been  already  said,  that  the  Cathedral  is  the  city.  Not  for 
the  first  time,  this  summer  of  1878,  the  Governor  visited  it, 
though  he  was  free  to  say,  when  he  had  done  so,  that  he  had 
previously  known  little  or  nothing  of  it  ;  that  it  had  been  as 
far  from  fixing  itself  in  the  mind,  in  its  true  proportions,  as 
that  other  withdrawing  sphinx  of  religious  houses,  Santa 
Maria  del  Fiere,  at  Florence. 

Probably  not  one  traveller  in  fifty,  unless  he  looks  with 
unusual  closeness  at  some  of  the  guide-books,  knows  that 
Cologne  Cathedral  has  the  additional  name  of  St.  Peter.  In 
its  appellation,  as  that  of  the  city,  the  tutelary  saint  is  always 
forgotten,  even  if  known  ;  and  many  have  never  known  it  or 
thought  of  it.  It  has  the  reputation  of  having  been  com¬ 
menced  in  1248,  when  Henry  III.  was  King  of  England,  with 
Edward  I.,  one  day  to  be  so  celebrated  as  Edward  Longshanks, 
then  only  three  years  old.  Louis  IX. — “Saint  Louis” — was 
King  of  France.  Frederic  II.  was  then  in  his  latter  days  as 
German  Emperor;  and  Cologne  stood  at  the  head  of  the  free 
imperial  cities,  admitting  a  sort  of  political  allegiance  to  the 
Empire,  but  really  obeying  or  disregarding  an  imperial  edict 
as  seemed  most  convenient.  Such  is  alleged  to  be  the  date 
of  its  foundation  ;  while,  oddly  enough,  not  only  is  the  date 
in  dispute,  but  the  architect  who  designed  it  is  not  remem¬ 
bered  ;  and  consequently  a  monkish  legend  has  long  been 
connected  with  it — that  the  devil  inspired  the  artist,  taking  his 
soul  as  the  eventual  premium  for  the  tuition  at  its  com¬ 
pletion.  Some  old  drawings,  too,  exist,  alleged  to  date  from 
that  time,  of  the  appearance  which  it  was  to  bear  when  fin¬ 
ished,  and  when  its  five  hundred  feet  of  length  should  be 
matched  by  two  towers  of  the  same  height. 

Perhaps  the  reality  of  no  celebrated  building  on  earth  is  so 
little  known  through  the  medium  of  pictures,  as  this.  First — 


COLOGNE  AND  CATHEDRAL. 


125 


It  is  completely  falsified,  in  the  public  mind,  by  those  pictures 
always  representing  it  as  it  is  to  be,  with  the  two  twin  towers 
or  spires  of  the  front  carried  up  to  the  wondrous  height  of 
their  design, — whereas,  until  within  a  very  few  years,  they 
have  never  reached  beyond  the  height  of  the  roof,  and  even 
now  extend  but  a  little  distance  above  it.  Second — There  is 
something  in  the  architecture  of  the  sides,  almost  as  much 
falsified.  It  looks,  in  pictures,  light  and  airy,  from  the  many 
slender  finials  crowning  the  buttresses,  whereas  in  the  reality 
the  first  thought  is  that  of  wondrous  and  awful  solidity  mar¬ 
ried  to  immortal  grace.  All  that  the  Cathedral  has  thus  far 
ever  boasted,  in  this  more  than  six  hundred  years,  of  spire,  is 
a  slight  elegant  pointed  shaft  at  the  choir,  or  intersection  of 
the  two  arms  of  the  cross.  Around  the  great  bulk  of  the 
rising  spires,  stands  a  perfect  network  of  scaffolding,  nearly 
as  bewildering  to  the  eye  as  could  be  any  interlacing  of  stone, 
though,  singularly,  without  materially  marring  the  appearance 
of  the  building.  If  the  hopes  of  the  master  workmen  do  not 
prove  to  be  at  fault,  and  the  imperial  determination  at  Berlin 
is  not  belied,  within  two  years  (may  it  not  be  two  hundred?) 
the  matchless  towers  will  be  completed,  the  crowing  religious 
structure  of  the  world  stand  forth  in  all  its  designed  glory, 
and  the  devil  of  the  legend  have  the  privilege  of  claiming  the 
soul  of  the  architect,  for  which  he  must  have  been  all  this 
time  in  impatient  waiting. 

Within,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  great  Cathedral  makes  so  pow¬ 
erful  an  impression  on  the  beholder,  as  a  whole,  as  from  the 
outside.  Not  that  it  fails  to  be  wonderfully  grand,  but  that 
here  others  more  nearly  approach  if  they  do  not  equal  it.  The 
height  of  the  groined  arches  is  something  fearful.  In  figures, 
the  rise  of  the  choir  is  set  at  161  feet,  though  it  seems  twice 
that  distance.  Perhaps  the  most  astounding  feature  is  so 
many  of  the  columns — literally  almost  all — being  clustered, 
and,  so  to  speak,  knobbed,  with  life-sized  statues  ;  while  the 
stained  glass,  ancient  and  modern,  is  in  bewildering  quantity 
and  splendor.  Really,  there  is  so  much  of  costly  and  labori¬ 
ous  detail,  that  some  danger  exists  of  the  most  careful 


126 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


observer  losing  many  of  the  nobler  features  in  observation  of 
the  minor — and  the  coup-d' ceil  in  subordinate  views. 

Of  course  the  most  notable  object  in  the  whole  interior,  is 
the  shrine  of  the  Three  Kings  of  Cologne,  in  the  sacristy — 
perhaps  the  most  costly,  magnificent,  and  in  many  regards 
the  most  interesting,  of  all  the  places  attracting  devotion  in 
the  great  temples  of  the  faith.  As  an  erection,  it  is  something 
of  almost  matchless  splendor,  standing  in  a  coved  recess 
with  columns  of  elaborate  work  on  either  side,  and  spanned 
by  a  foliated  triple  round  arch  of  great  beauty  and  taste,  while 
behind  it  the  lance  windows  pour  in  their  golden  and  purple 
light  from  without.  It  is  in  shape  something  like  the  raised 
altar-tombs  of  so  many  of  the  great  dead  ;  but  it  is  higher 
than  most,  more  elaborate  in  work  than  any  other,  and  the 
magnificent  gifts  of  the  great  of  all  ages  have  studded  it  with 
so  many  gems  amid  the  carven  gold  mosaics  and  frosted 
silver,  that  it  is  literally  crusted  with  them.  For  once,  here, 
the  hackneyed  phrase  well  comes  in  play:  “  It  must  be  seen 
to  be  appreciated.” 

There  was  much  more,  in  connection  with  this  shrine,  than 
the  Governor  and  his  companion  saw,  or,  for  that,  wished  to 
see,  on  this  special  occasion.  For  within  the  shrine  are  said 
to  be  entombed  the  remains  of  the  Three  Kings,  or  Holy 
Magi,  in  a  coffin  of  silver,  never  exposed  to  the  public  gaze. 
More  accessible,  and  shown  to  those  who  signify  the  desire, 
are  the  three  skulls,  standing  in  a  row  on  a  shelf — jet  black 
with  age,  each  crowned  with  gems  and  gold,  and  around  the 
brow  of  each,  on  a  fillet,  also  in  gems,  one  of  the  three  names  : 
Casper,  Melchoir,  and  Balthazar.  Of  the  needless  horror  of 
such  exhibitions  of  ghastly  mortality,  there  is  more  to  be 
said  in  another  connection ;  enough  of  it  here,  before  re¬ 
turning  to  the  shrine  proper  and  to  the  interest  it  excites  and 
the  causes  more  or  less  justifying  that  excitement. 

What  crowds,  during  the  last  five  hundred  years,  have 
flocked  around  this  shrine,  and  what  reverent  lips  have  been 
pressed  to  any  part  of  it  capable  of  being  touched,  by  those 
who  believed  that  it  brought  them  indefinably  nearer  to  the 


COLOGNE  AND  CATHEDRAL. 


127 


great  event  of  all  the  ages,  the  Birth  of  Christ !  IIow  much  of 
mere  superstition  there  is  in  it,  who  can  say?  At  all  events, 
there  is  something  more  than  the  ordinary  excuse  for  this 
devotion  ;  for  there  is  at  least  a  possibility,  and  some  proba¬ 
bility,  that  the  bones  of  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East  really  rest 
within.  Will  a  word  of  explanation  of  this  belief,  and  of  the 
circumstances  giving  rise  to  it,  be  out  of  place  here  ? 

That  there  came  Wise  Men  from  the  East,  to  worship  the 
Young  Child,  and  to  give  him  costly  gifts,  we  have  the  assur¬ 
ance  of  Holy  Writ.  From  their  name  of  “  Wise  Men  ”  came 
the  other  name,  “Magi,”  meaning  nearly  the  same  in  the 
eastern  dialects.  Tradition  says  that  their  gifts  to  the  Infant 
Saviour  wer o.  gold,  as  to  the  King;  myrrh,  as  to  him  who  was 
appointed  to  die  ;  and  frankincense,  as  the  sweet  savor  of  the 
incense  to  divinity.  Herod  is  known  to  have  sought  for  them, 
to  kill  them  ;  and  it  is  also  known  that  they  escaped.  That  from 
the  East,  Wise  Men  should  have  come,  with  such  an  errand,  is 
rendered  not  only  credible  but  easy  of  belief,  from  the  fact 
that  the  heathen  sages,  and  notably  the  Persian  Zoroaster, 
predicted  the  coming  of  a  wondrous  being,  who  should  be  born 
of  a  pure  virgin,  and  to  whom,  when  he  came,  the  wise  men  of 
that  time  were  ordered  to  go  and  pay  homage.  This  being, 
Zoroaster  called  Oshanderbcgha,  or  the  Man  of  all  the 
World  (virtually  the  same  word  as  “  Iskanderbeg,”  or  “  Scan- 
derbeg,”  both  signifying  “  Alexander  the  Great  ”) ;  and  of  him 
he  said:  “You,  my  sons,  will  perceive  the  rising  [of  the  star] 
before  all  other  nations.  When,  therefore,  you  shall  see  the 
star,  go  whithersoever  it  shall  direct  you.  Adore  that  Child, 
offering  him  your  gifts.  He  is  the  Word  which  created  the 
heavens.”  So  much,  though  much  more  might  be  quoted,  of 
the  heathen  prophecies  and  directions. 

Traditionally,  again,  the  Wise  Men,  after  escaping  Herod, 
and  no  doubt  hunted  by  his  malevolent  power,  are  said  to 
have  gone  to  India,  and  to  have  lived  and  died  there,  after 
being  baptized  by  St.  Thomas,  the  Apostle  of  the  East. 
Certain  it  is  that  they  were  believed  so  to  have  lived  and  died, 
and  that  the  Empress  Helena  of  Constantinople,  who  made  so 


128 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


memorable  a  Christian  mark  on  the  Oriental  world,  heard  of 
what  she  had  reason  to  believe  were  the  bones  of  the  Magi, 
somewhere  in  the  remote  East,  and  removed  them  to 
Christian  lands — to  Milan,  as  alleged,  though  there  may  have 
been  one  or  two  previous  removals.  From  Milan,  where  they 
had  unquestionably  been  intended  for  the  Duomo,  Frederick 
Barbarossa,  all-powerful  for  a  time  in  Italy,  and  intent  on  the 
aggrandizement  of  his  own  empire,  on  the  capture  of  that  city, 
had  them  removed  to  Cologne,  where  they  no  doubt  formed 
the  nucleus  around  which  was  built  the  Cathedral. 

All  this  may  be  a  trifle  tiresome,  but  it  is  not  the  less  an 
interesting  speculation.  There,  in  that  gemmed  and  guarded 
shrine,  are  believed  to  be  the  relics  of  three  men  who  had  the 
unspeakable  glory  of  recognizing  and  welcoming  the  Child 
Christ  to  His  world.  How  they  became  called  “  Kings  ”  may 
be  easily  conjectured,  as  indicating  their  high  place.  Long 
ago  they  were  so  entitled.  Their  names  supplied  the  battle- 
cry  for  the  German  lances,  through  centuries  ;  and  Bulvver,  in 
“  Rienzi,”  oddly  draws  them  into  the  service  of  the  German 
Free-Companions,  with  the  shout  in  conflict,  “  Full  purses, 
and  the  Three  Kings  of  Cologtie." 

After  the  Cathedral,  the  next  religious  attraction  in  Cologne 
is  naturally  the  Church  of  St.  Ursula,  which  is  signally  insig¬ 
nificant-looking  without,  and  stands  where  people  often  find 
themselves  lost  in  the  effort  to  discover  it.  The  Governor,  on 
this  occasion,  would  not  have  mourned  over  failing  to  dis¬ 
cover  it  at  all,  having  fallen  into  the  bad  graces  of  the  cus¬ 
todian,  several  years  ago,  by  intimating  a  doubt  whether  there 
had  not  been  a  miscount  in  the  eleven  thousand  virgins  there 
said  to  be  osseously  entombed, — and  his  companion  of  that 
time,  having  even  worse  offended  the  same  custodian  by  pre¬ 
tending  to  find  a  male  jaw  among  the  rows  alleged  to  belong 
to  the  female  fellow-sufferers  of  the  early  martyr.  A  visit 
to  it  was  voted  indispensable,  however,  especially  by  the 
Artist,  who  fancied  that  he  might  exhume  some  faded  daub 
that  had  once  been  a  picture,  and  who  was  punished  accord¬ 
ingly. 


COLOGNE  AND  CATHEDRAL. 


129 


If  there  can  be  anything  at  once  more  sorrowful  and  more 
ghastly,  in  the  world,  than  the  innumerable  cabinets  of  skulls, 
some  of  them  crowned  and  many  ornamented,  and  the  wagon 
load  after  wagon  load  of  ordinary  bones,  filling  what  seem  to 
be  closets  and  chests  and  everything  hollow  and  capable  of 
holding  the  space  of  a  quart  measure — then  that  other  more 
sorrowful  and  more  ghastly  thing  ought  to  be  at  once  abol¬ 
ished  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  Suppose  that  St.  Ursula  actu¬ 
ally  existed,  and  that  there  were  then  on  the  globe  eleven 
thousand  virgins,  and  that  they  were  all  martyred  by  the 
Huns,  during  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  for  adhering  to  their  vows 
of  chastity  and  devotion — what  then  ?  Is  there  any  reason 
why,  for  the  past  hundreds  of  years,  they  should  have  been 
additionally  martyred  by  being  refused  burial,  and  having 
their  sightless  eye-sockets  set  to  look  out  at  square  rows  of 
little  windows  ;  and  their  teeth,  that  may  once  have  been 
pearly  and  beautiful,  to  grin  there  with  the  suggestion  of  con¬ 
demned  malefactors  on  gibbets  in  the  days  when  theyr  allowed 
them  to  fall  to  pieces  there  ;  and  their  bones  to  be  dealt  with 
after  the  manner  of  so  many  bundles  of  kindling  wood  ? 
Faugh  ! — the  whole  idea  is  equally  profane  and  disgusting;  and 
we  will  have  very  little  of  it — even  though  the  Artist,  failing  to 
find  anything  else  to  “draw,”  may  have  been  tempted  to 
draw  some  of  the  grinning  teeth  ! 

There  are  plenty  of  other  churches  in  Cologne — some  of 
them  with  features  capable  of  attracting  the  impressionable. 
That  of  St.  Peter  (how  of  the  jarring  of  this  with  the  Cathedral 
of  the  same  name?)  has  one  of  Rubens’  masterpieces,  the 
“  Crucifixion,”  as  an  altar-piece  ;  and  the  font  is  also  there 
in  which  he  was  baptized— late  in  life,  it  is  worthy  of  notice. 
(Rubens  was  born  in  Cologne,  it  should  be  remembered  ;  and 
the  house  of  his  birth  is  shown,  in  one  of  the  side  streets,  the 
Sterner  Gasse — stately  and  court-ymrded,  and  with  an  inscrip¬ 
tion  in  his  honor  above  the  door,  quite  dwarfing  the  other 
recollection,  that  Marie  de  Medicis,  widowed  Queen  of  Ilenry 
IV.,  of  France,  lived  and  died  in  the  same  house,  when 
banished  from  France  after  an  attempted  disturbance,  in  the 


130 


OVER  HALF  EUP OPE. 


reign  of  her  son,  Louis  XIII.)  Some  twenty  others  of  the 
churches  have  also  the  prefix  of  “Saint”;  they  may  be 
left  in  peace  with  that  appellation,  after  the  Cathedral  and  St. 
U  rsula. 

Cologne  is  heavily  fortified.  Let  that  fact  pass  with  a  mere 
mention,  in  this  day  when  there  is  not  likely  to  be  any  one  to 
attack  it.  It  is  of  much  more  consequence  that  the  Rhine, 
here,  is  very  wide,  tolerably  muddy,  and  exceedingly  swift. 
A  magnificent  railway  bridge  crosses  it,  from  the  foot  of  the 
Frankenplatz,  immediately  opposite  the  Cathedral,  to  Deutz, 
and  so  to  connection  with  the  great  railway  system  for  all 
Northern  Germany.  Not  far  above,  a  fine  bridge  of  boats 
also  crosses,  and  also  to  Deutz,  for  the  accommodation  of  all 
travel  and  traffic  not  on  rail. 

Over  this  bridge  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  took  their 
way,  one  pleasant  evening,  to  the  military  concert  in  the 
pleasure -garden  on  the  river  bank,  at  Deutz  ;  and  there  and 
on  that  bridge  they  stopped  to  mark  the  rapidity  of  the  Rhine 
flow,  rushing  by  the  boats,  as  if  in  mad  haste  to  get  seaward  >' 
and  saw  what  a  quietly-busy  scene  the  river  and  its  wharves 
were,  with  the  arrivals  and  departures  of  steamers  and  other 
craft,  down  the  river  to  Rotterdam  and  up  the  river  to  Coblentz 
and  Mayence  ;  and  heard  more  pleasant  jangling  of  sunset 
bells,  from  all  the  old  steeples  of  the  old  city,  than  they  had 
heard  at  any  one  time  in  a  long  period  ;  and  found  the  military 
concert  a  loud  and  continuous  one,  but  never  a  bad  one,  as  Ger¬ 
mans  do  not  habitually  play  out  of  tune  ;  and  saw  enough  of 
soldiers  lounging  around  the  tables  to  induce  question,  and 
found  that  four  or  five  regiments  are  always  quartered  at 
and  about  Cologne;  and  then  indulged  in  certain  cooling 
drinks  that  admitted  of  straws,  and  in  weeds  of  strong  flavor  to 
follow  them — until  they  half  believed  that  the  wheels  of  time 
had  rolled  back  for  a  dozen  or  twenty  years,  and  they  were 
similarly  enjoying  themselves  and  the  occasion,  in  their  hot 
youth,  at  Jones’  Wood  or  Hoboken. 

And  the  evening,  at  nearly  the  same  hour,  gave  them  the 
company  of  the  newly-appointed  American  Consul  at  Cologne 


COLOGNE  AND  CATHEDRAL 


131 


(a  very  courteous  and  capable  specimen  of  the  Man  of  the 
West,  with  his  pleasant  wife,  daughter,  and  “  Little  Pearl),” 
in  a  drive  round  the  fortifications,  which  did  not  frown  any 
worse  at  nearer  view  than  they  had  done  at  a  distance,  and 
through  the  Zoological  Gardens,  with  fine  shade  and  no  doubt 
a  bewildering  number  of  undesirable  monkeys,  snarlin 
hyenas,  and  screaming  parrots.  And  then,  on  the  mornin 
following,  they  left  Cologne  for  “  up-the-river,”  on  the  good 
steamer  Wilhelm,  Kaiser  und  Konig ,  whereof  Captain  Kluth 
was  the  commander,  with  capacities  for  that  station  (or  indeed 
any  other)  which  may  be  more  fully  and  at  large  alluded  to  in 
a  succeeding  paper. 


THE  GOVERNOR, 


10 


be  be 


XVI. 

UP  THE  RHINE— COLOGNE  TO  COBLENTZ. 

“just  like  the  Hudson!’’  exclaims  many  an  American 
voyager,  making  his  first  passage  by  steamer  up  the  Rhine— 
especially  after  reaching  certain  portions  of  it,  above  Bonn  ; 
and  “very  much  like  the  Rhine!”  similarly  exclaims  many 
a  European  traveller,  making  his  first  progress  up  the  noble 
Hudson,  possibly  in  that  splendid  day-passage,  Albany-ward, 
afforded  by  the  Drew  or  Chauncey  Vibbard ,  or  that  afternoon 
run  to  West  Point,  Newburg  or  Rondout,  supplied  by  the 
“river  queen,”  the  Mary  Powell.  Meanwhile,  the  fancy  of  any 
resemblance  whatever  between  the  two  rivers  is  principally 
born  of  what  others  have  said,  and  of  the  simple  fact  that 
both  the  rivers  are  large,  long,  and  run  for  a  certain  distance 
through  hill-country,  with  picturesque  banks  in  either  instance. 
There  is  no  actual  similarity  in  any  other  regard  ;  and,  with 
all  the  pride  that  may  belong  to  country,  it  must  be  said  that 
the  Hudson  cannot  for  one  moment  be  compared  with  the 
Rhine  in  the  grouped  glories  of  its  progress — as,  indeed,  what 
other  single  stream  on  the  face  of  the  earth  can  be  so 
compared  ? 

Such  were  the  refections  of  the  Governor,  after  making 
his  first  passage  up  the  Rhine  from  Cologne  to  Bieberich  ; 
and  such  were  some  of  the  decisions  at  which  both  he  and  the 
Artist  arrived,  in  advance  of  the  former  seeing  it  for  a 
second  time  and  the  latter  first  seeing  it  at  all, — as  they 
stepped  one  pleasant  and  breezy  morning  on  board  the  Wilhelm, t 
Kaiser  und  Konig ,  then  lying  impatiently  at  her  wharf  at  the 
Freihafen,  at  Cologne,  in  readiness  for  a  run  up  to  Mayence. 

Seven  years  had  literally  made  no  change  in  the  appearance 
of  the  very  handsome  steamer,  which  in  the  year  following  the 
F ranco-German  war  was  in  the  first  flush  of  her  youth.  A  trim 
and  shapely  saloon-steamer,  paddle-wheeled  and  two-funnelledF 
built  very  much  on  the  American  river  plan,  and  affording 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


133 


accommodations  very  much  of  the  same  character,  but  seem¬ 
ing  to  look  tar  less  clumsy  than  the  keenest  of  American  boats, 
'  from  the  fact  of  her  being  black  instead  of  glaring  white,  and 
with  the  name  somewhat  conspicuous  on  her  paddle-boxes,  in 
gold  on  the  black  ground.  A  very  handsome  steamer,  indeed; 
and  yet  not  a  whit  handsomer  than  the  noble-looking  officer 
deserved,  who  stood  on  the  paddle-box  and  directed  her 
casting  off,  and  whom  we  afterwards  knew  (and  liked)  as 
Captain  C.  J.  Kluth,  erewhile  of  the  Kaiser’s  service  in  other 
lines,  and  bearing  the  military  stamp  most  notably  in  face, 
figure  and  movement. 

A  moment  of  bustle,  and  we  were  off  “up  the  Rhine.’’ 
How  much  there  is  in  the  sound  of  those  three  words,  to 
many  who  have  never  enjoyed  the  reality  ! — say  to  boarding- 
school  girls  who  hope  to  make  that  a  part  of  the  bridal  tour, 
when  the  happy  day  and  the  right  man  come  along  together  ! — 
or  to  enthusiastic  students  of  history,  who  have  learned  the 
important  part  borne  by  the  Rhine  in  the  events  of  the 
world,  and  who  look  forward  to  “  placing”  one  and  another  of 
those  events  with  their  own  eyes  !  And  how  much,  equally, 
there  is  in  the  same  sound  to  one  who  has  “  done’’  the  great 
river  thoroughly  and  lovingly,  and  fully  impregnated  himself 
(or  herself)  with  the  romance  of  history  and  legend  which 
belongs  to  it  !  Let  there  be  no  question  on  this  point;  as  a 
single  sail  by  river,  the  passage  of  the  Rhine  is  physically  the 
finest  in  the  world  ;  and  as  a  single  river  it  includes  more  of 
the  historical  and  romantic  than  any  other  stream — the  Hud¬ 
son  not  comparable,  and  the  Thames,  Seine  and  Danube  all  left 
far  behind  in  the  comparison. 

With  no  special  features  near  us,  except  a  glance  back  at 
dear  old  Cologne  and  the  giant  bulk  of  its  Cathedral  looming 
above  all  else  like  one  great  act  in  an  ordinary  life,  we  sat 
on  the  covered  promenade,  as  the  boat  moved  away,  and 
watched  the  crowd  of  excursionists  who  flourished  maps, 
and  examined  guide-books,  and  took  out  opera-glasses,  and 
did  all  the  other  acts  and  things  known  to  the  travelling 
world, — not  to  mention  gabbling  in  all  the  languages  heard 


134 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


since  the  slight  misunderstanding  of  Babel.  By-and-by, 
however,  both  the  old  traveller  and  the  neophyte  had  other 
business  than  attending  to  them;  for  Bonn  was  rising 
ahead,  at  the  right,  and  behind  it  and  overtopping  it,  more  to 
the  left,  the  uneven  high  dark  line  of  the  Siebengeberge 
(Seven  Mountains),  with  one  feature  declaring  its  own  name 
far  away,  in  the  pyramidal  bulk  and  the  rough,  fragmentary 
shaft  of  the  “Castled  Crag  of  Drachenfels.” 

The  Governor  remembered,  as  they  approached  Bonn,  that 
he  had  been  very  hungry,  once,  years  before,  when  passing 
through  it  on  his  hurried  way  to  Cologne  ;  so  that  highly-rea- 
sonable  traveller  would  not  have  stopped  at  it  even  had  he 
not  been  booked  for  the  whole  day  on  the  river.  The  towers 
of  a  Cathedral,  built  in  the  twelfth  century,  show  from  the 
river  ;  and  it  is  about  this  that  the  celebrated  application  to 
the  English  Minister  at  Berlin  is  said  to  have  taken  place — a 
female  English  tourist,  whose  Murray  set  down  the  towers 
(say)  as  five,  failing  to  find  more  than  four,  deeming  herself 
wronged  out  of  one,  and  demanding  that  the  Minister  should 
at  once  apply  for  redress  to  the  offending  government.  (JPar 
parenthese,  she  is  said  not  to  have  received  the  redress  de¬ 
manded,  and  thereupon  to  have  spent  the  remainder  of  her 
life,  and  died  at  her  post  of  duty,  writing  letters  to  the  Londoti 
Times,  demanding  the  replacement  of  that  tower  or  the  return 
of  her  money  paid  for  a  passage  ticket.) 

Seriously,  Bonn  has  a  noble  Cathedral ;  and  it  has  a  Uni¬ 
versity  of  even  higher  than  the  ordinary  high  German  stand¬ 
ard,  albeit  only  founded  in  1818,  and  located  in  a  disused  castle 
of  a  century  or  two  older.  The  Bonnese,  when  in  other  lands, 
go  mad  over  an  avenue  of  horse-chestnuts  leading  to  the 
Poppelsdorfer  Schloss  (Phoebus,  what  a  name  !),  where  there 
is  a  collection  of  natural  history  adding  to  the  madness.  But 
it  is  upon  record  that  one  of  the  English  seats  of  learning  has 
prohibited  the  mention  ot  this  whole  complication  within  its 
walls,  owing  to  a  riot  nearly  inaugurated  some  years  ago  over 
the  question  whether  the  German  tutor  was  endeavoring  to 
explain  the  exi.tence  of  “horse-chestnuts”  or  “  chestnut 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


135 


horses  ”  in  connection  with  the  natural-history  collection. 
There  are  invitations,  too,  at  Bonn,  to  go  to  the  Kreuzberg. 
and  to  the  top  of  the  church  of  the  Holy  Steps  there,  for  a 
wonderful  view  ;  but  as  no  one  on  the  Kaiser  und  Konig  IVii- 
helm  intended  to  go,  this  whole  thing  became  confusing,  and 
it  is  quite  as  well  that  she  steamed  away  up  the  river  and  al¬ 
lowed  her  passengers  to  fall  into  contemplation  of  the  great 
stream  and  the  rising  highlands,  bringing  up  Praed  and  his  six 
lines  of  matchless  description  ot  the  predominant  Rhine 
scenery : 

“Where  foams  and  flows  the  glorious  Rhine, 

Many  a  ruin,  wan  and  gray, 

O'erlooks  the  cornfield  and  the  vine. 

Majestic  in  their  dark  decay, — 

That  among  their  dim  clouds,  long  ago, 

Mocked  the  battles  that  raged  below.” 

Whole  pages  of  other  words  could  not  so  convey,  as  those  six 
lines,  the  spirit  of  the  range  of  scenery  beginning  at  just  above 
Bonn  and  extending  to  the  Lorleiberg,  far  beyond  Coblentz. 
At  the  left,  very  soon  after  leaving  that  town,  the  Drachenfels 
came  into  near  view — one  of  the  most  rugged  remains  of  an 
old  fortification  possible  for  even  the  imagination  to  con¬ 
struct,  and  speaking  volumes  as  to  the  character  of  the  times 
when  any  man  could  have  wished  to  place  himself  in  such  an 
isolation.  Behind  it,  and  away  to  the  left,  the  rough  summits 
of  the  Seven  Mountains  seemed  to  be  attending  and  waiting 
on  that  one  fastness  with  its  splinter  of  stone.  And  on  the 
other  side,  only  a  little  beyond,  a  mere  remaining  archway  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  with  the  pregnant  name  of  Rolandseck, 
told  over  again  one  of  those  sad  tales  of  love  and  misfortune 
that  seem  never  to  grow  old,  however  the  ages  go  by  while 
they  are  woven.  Who  has  not  heard  the  story  of  Roland, 
the  matchless  paladin  of  Charlemagne,  said  to  have  fallen  in 
the  defeat  of  Roncesvalles,  in  the  Pyrenees  ?  Campbell  tells, 
in  one  of  his  sweetest  poems,  of : 

“ - That  sad  and  w  ndrous  tale, 

How  Roland,  the  flower  of  chivalry, 

Had  fallen  at  Roncevale.” 


OVER  HALF  EVP  OPE. 


13(3 


Wei],  that  is  only  a  part  of  the  story,  and  by  no  means  the 
saddest.  Below  the  crumbling  ruin,  on  a  little  island,  is  a  nun¬ 
nery,  still  in  use,  called  Nonnenwerden,  into  the  very  win¬ 
dows  of  which  people  on  the  steamer  may  almost  look  as  they 
go  by.  The  legend  has  it,  that  when  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Roland  at  Roncesvalles  came  to  Germany,  the  lady  of  his  love 
left  the  world,  took  the  vows,  and  buried  life  and  love  in  Non¬ 
nenwerden.  Then  one  day  Roland,  who  had  only  been  cap¬ 
tured  and  imprisoned,  came  back  to  the  Rhine,  to  find  all  that 
he  cared  for  shut  up  between  the  pitiless  walls  of  a  convent. 
He  had  but  one  resource,  and  he  took  it.  On  the  hill,  above 
the  convent,  he  built  the  tower  of  Rolandseck,  and  buried 
himself  there,  with  but  one  sad  pleasure  remaining  in  life — to 
look  down  at  evening  on  the  little  island  below,  and  see  the 
nuns  come  out  for  their  evening  walk,  with  a  guess,  and 
nothing  more,  at  the  personality  of  his  lost  one.  Then  one 
later  day  (the  legend  does  not  tell  us  how  he  knew  ;  but  what 
matter  ?)  a  figure  was  missing,  and  he  knew  that  she  was  dead. 
Then  Roland  went  away,  leaving  Rolandseck  to  crumble  (as  it 
has  very  thoroughly  done  by  this  time),  sought  the  scenes  of 
battle  once  more,  and  died  with  her  name  on  his  lips.  The 
legend  is  a  beautiful  one,  and  should  be  true  if  it  is  not.  Let 
us  believe  that  it  is,  and  so  pardon  the  two  gray-haired  school¬ 
boys  who  sat  that  day  on  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  looking  at 
the  old  ruin,  and  telling  the  tale  to  the  few  who  would  listen 
with  something  very  like  tears  in  their  eyes  for  the  fate  of  the 
one  true  man  who  loved  the  one  good  woman  ! 

And  then  the  steamer  swept  on  through  what  the  world 
agrees  to  call  the  very  finest  portion  of  the  Rhine  scenery  in 
roughness  and  rocky  grandeur.  Rocky  grandeur,  indeed  ! 
yet  never  desolation,  in  spite  of  the  crumbling  towers  every¬ 
where  studding  the  heights;  for  the  vine,  emblem  at  once  of 
fertility  and  of  merriment,  was  everywhere.  Every  foot  of 
ground  that  could  be  gripped  away  from  the  rocks  was  planted 
with  it;  and  the  broad  leaves  and  long  clinging  tendrils  made 
a  soft  green  of  what  would  else  have  been  hard,  rocky  and 
unlovely.  The  Rhineland  is  the  Vineland  quite  as  truly. 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


137 


Konigswinter,  one  of  the  most  convenient  places  from  which 
to  visit  the  wild  group  of  the  Siebengebirge,  is  passed  on  the 
left,  by  the  way,  before  reaching  Rolandseck  and  Nonnen- 
werden  ;  and  from  that  point,  partially  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  but  especially  on  the  right  bank  (left  side  as  going  up), 
the  villages  and  small  towns  are  very  numerous,  though  only 
interesting  from  their  picturesqueness.  Castles  in  various 
states  of  ruin,  and  these  small  villages,  little  more  than  ham¬ 
lets,  follow  each  other  and  alternate  continually.  The  Castle 
of  Ochenfels  rises,  black  and  gloomy,  at  the  spectator’s  left; 
and  near  it  is  the  town  of  Linz,  showing  some  threatening 
fortifications  in  the  neighborhood,  and  with  the  much  more 
modern  Castle  of  Leubesdorf  studding  it  on  the  other  side. 
Then  follows,  a  little  later,  on  the  right,  the  Castle  of  Rhein- 
eck,  with  the  little  village  of  Brohl  lying  near  and  seeming  to 
belong  to  it.  Hammerstein  shows  some  castle  ruins,  looking 
very  black  and  gloomy,  at  the  left,  as  it  may  well  do  with  the 
eight  hundred  years  accredited  to  it  ;  and  then,  on  the  right, 
comes  Andernach,  one  of  the  important  towns  of  the  Rhine 
country,  heavily  fortified,  and  with  a  splendid  watch-tower 
near  the  river.  Very  little  above  Andernach,  also  on  the 
right,  rises  a  memorial  of  the  French  First-Republican  days, 
and  of  one  of  the  men  who  won  before  imperialism.  This  is 
the  White  Tower,  a  tall,  plain  shaft,  showing  where  the  revo¬ 
lutionary  General  Hoche  crossed  the  Rhine,  in  the  face  of  a 
powerful  Austrian  force,  in  1797,  winning  his  death  and  this 
memorial. 

A  little  above  the  White  Tower,  and  again  on  the  opposite 
or  right  side  of  the  spectator,  is  neat-looking  and  prosperous 
Neuwied,  with  a  small  palace  of  Emperor-King  William  near 
it,  in  the  which  that  troubled  potentate  is  said  sometimes  to 
cool  his  hot  old  brow  with  the  Rhine  breezes  ;  though  one  is 
puzzled  to  guess  when  he  finds  time  to  visit  it,  without  being 
for  one  day  absent  from  the  public  eye  or  out  of  the  range  of 
the  pleasant  people  who  periodically  find  it  necessary  to 
shoot  him  and  cut  him.  The  largest  island  in  the  Rhine  lies  in 
the  middle  of  the  river,  not  far  above  Neuweid.  It  is  a  double 


138 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


one,  with  a  name  of  which  ordinary  humanity  can  only  re¬ 
member  that  it  ends  with  “werth”or  “werden”  (synony¬ 
mous),  and  so  is  a  sister  of  Nonnenwerden,  lower  down.  And 
after  this  island,  which  lies  only  a  little  distance  below  the 
sharp  bend  in  the  river  at  which  the  Mosel  debouches  into  the 
Rhine,  and  Coblentz  rises  with  its  mighty  Ehrenbreitstein  on 
the  opposite  shore,  there  is  really  nothing  of  any  special 
interest  before  reaching  that  bound  of  the  first  half-day’s  ex¬ 
cursion  ;  so  that  a  little  chat  over  the  Rhine-boat  may  be 
quite  in  order,  to  fill  the  hiatus. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  run  up  the  Rhine,  or  down 
it,  is  made  without  meeting  with  a  very  large  number  of  boats, 
dotting  it  at  every  turn,  and  giving  variety  to  what  would 
otherwise  be  a  trifle  lonely  if  not  monotonous.  Besides,  the 
trade  of  that  portion  of  Germany  is  largely  carried  on  up  and 
down  the  Rhine  by  water,  as  is  that  between  New  York  and 
Albany,  and  so  between  New  York  and  the  interior  regions  of 
the  State,  and  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  on  the  Hudson.  There 
are  not  many  of  the  Rheindampschiff  (steamboat)  ;  but  the 
Rhein-bote  (sailboat,  equivalent  to  our  sloop  or  schooner)  is 
legion.  The  Rhine  steamboat,  when  met  or  passed,  is  always 
black  and  rakish-looking  ;  the  Rhine  boat,  in  similar  circum¬ 
stances,  is  also  black,  with  tan-colored  sails,  and  no  inconsider¬ 
able  resemblance  to  the  same  freight-carrier  on  the  English 
Thames.  She  has  usually  two  masts,  the  forward  one  much 
the  longer,  with  fore-and-aft  sails  and  a  jib  from  the  cutwater, 
with  a  clumsy  lee-board  suspended  at  the  side,  and  a  broad 
rudder,  hung  with  a  hoop  to  its  outer  corner,  over  a  stern 
cocked  up  a  little  like  that  of  a  Chinese  junk  ;  while  at  near 
the  bow  she  is  usually  cut  away  half  down  to  the  water’s  edge, 
with  a  strong  suggestion  that  she  is  never  in  the  habit  of 
meeting  a  heavy  head  sea,  or  being  obliged  to  lie  to  in  a  hurri¬ 
cane.  She  is  usually  manned  by  sleepy-looking  and  pipe¬ 
smoking  old  fellows,  in  rough  caps  and  blouses,  who  do  not 
seem  to  be  in  a  hurry,  and  who  probably  are  not.  Taken 
altogether,  the  Rhine  boat  is  a  queer-looking  affair,  but 
pleasant  enough  to  meet,  and  quite  a  picturesque  figure  in  the 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


139 


view.  Without  it,  the  Rhine  would  be — well,  not  the  Rhine  as 
the  Governor  and  the  Artist  saw  it  on  this  occasion,  and  as 
the  former  had  previously  seen  and  studied  it. 

Long  may  the  Rhine  boat  flourish  !  And  may  there  be, 
some  day,  more  freight  for  her  to  carry,  and  a  livelier  outlook 
for  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  Rhine,  and  of  all 
Germany  !  For  the  German  land  lies  under  a  commercial 
cloud — dark,  heavy  and  threatening.  The  heavy  fine  paid  to 
Germany  by  France  seems  not  to  have  impoverished  her,  and 
it  equally  seems  not  to  have  enriched  Germany.  Is  there 
something  in  what  an  old  German  officer,  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  welfare  of  the  people,  said  to  the  Governor  that  day  ? 

“The  country  is  going  to  the  devil,”  was  his  vigorous  dictum. 
“  on  Bismarckism.  You  do  not  know  my  name,  so  you  cannot 
betray  me  to  the  Chancellor,  who  would  tear  the  epaulettes 
off  my  shoulders  if  he  knew  what  I  said.  He  is  ruining  the 
commercial  chances  of  Germany  with  his  infernal  politics, 
aggrandizement  of  the  Empire,  and  so  forth.  The  good  old 
Emperor  has  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  his  heart  is  with  the 
people,  only  he  is  old  and  overborne  by  a  stronger  will  than 
his  own.  Bismarck  is  too  sharp,  too  determined,  too  self- 
willed.  He  manages  to  array  one  class  against  another,  as 
well  as  one  religion.  He  is  overstepping  his  boundary,  and 
Germany  suffers  on  account  of  his  action.  He  will  be  no  loss 
to  Germany,  commercially  or  socially,  when  he  resigns  or  dies, 
whatever  may  be  the  effect  political^  ;  and  I  doubt  if  he  would 
be  painfully  missed  even  in  that  regard.  Bah  !  Germany  is 
over-governed,  and  we  have  had  too  much  of  it  !” 

This  brought  us  nearly  off  Coblentz,  on  the  right  (of  us), 
and  under  the  mingled  smile  and  frown  of  the  great  fortress 
of  Ehrenbreitstein  on  the  left.  Smile  and  frown,  indeed  ;  for 
while  there  is  probably  no  place  in  the  world  stronger  than 
the  “  Broad  Stone  of  Honor,”  covering  the  whole  height  with 
fortification  of  the  most  modern  and  approved  construction, 
and  threatening  death  and  ruin  to  any  attacking  force,  how¬ 
ever  large  or  however  determined, — there  is,  at  the  same  time, 
nothing  else  in  the  world  so  grandly  beautiful.  Think  of  a 


140 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


lower  Gibraltar,  not  one  frowning  rock  with  a  citadel  at  the 
top,  but  literally  all  cut  stone  arranged  in  the  handsomest 
and  deadliest  of  terraces,  lines,  levels  and  all  tne  details  of 
the  art  that  made  Vauban  immortal, — and  then  we  have  a 
faint  idea  of  it. 

The  Artist  and  the  Governor  gazed  upon  it  long  and  lov¬ 
ingly — yes,  lovingly — that  day.  To  see  one  of  the  strongest 
places  in  the  world,  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  beauti¬ 
ful — this  is  something  ;  yes,  it  is  much,  in  a  world  where  the 
two  characteristics  do  not  often  combine.  And  the  Governor, 
after  sweeping  it  on  every  visible  side  with  the  eye,  and  glass 
in  hand,  said  : 

“  By  George  !  It  couldn’t  be  taken  by  all  the  forces  in  the 
world  !  ” 

“  It  could  be  taken  by  a  very  small  force  from  any  one  part 
of  the  world  !  ”  replied  the  Artist,  who  had  his  note-book  out, 
but  had  only  sketched  a  rampart  or  two.  “  But  it  oughtn’t 
to  be  taken — it  is  so  beautiful.  ” 

“  I  quite  agree  with  you  as  to  the  beauty,"  admitted  the 
Governor.  “  But  I  don’t  agree  with  you  as  to  the  possibility 
of  its  being  taken.  Now,  don’t  you  see,  it  stands  so  nigh  that 
no  elevation  of  guns  could  do  anything  at  battering  tne  main 
work,  and - ” 

Probably  a  formidable  lecture  on  the  art  of  fortification  was 
demolished  by  the  Artist,  who  merely  said  : 

“  Don’t  be  a  fool,  Governor  !  It  is  a  marvellously  strong 
fortification,  but  it  could  be  taken,  and  I  could  take  it." 

“  Phew-w-w  !’’  This  exclamation  of  the  Governor  was  only 
half  spoken — and  the  other  half  whistled.  “  You  ?  When  aid 
you  become  an  artillery  commander?  You!" 

“  Yes,  I !”  said  the  Artist.  “  It  might  cost  something,  but  I 
could  take  it.  If  I  wanted  to  be  master  of  Ehrenbreitstein,  as 
I  don 7,  I  would  bombard  it  with  dollars — pounds,  shillings  and 
pence — Napoleons — double  Frederics  and  guilders — corrupt 
every  man-jack  inside  of  it,  ana  buy  it.” 

“Oh!”  In  that  exclamation  the  Governor  owned  himself 
defeated,  not  to  say  “sold,”  as  the  fortress  was  to  be.  The 
Artist  smiled  and  put  up  his  note-bo®k.  And  his  victim  quite 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


141 


agreed  with  him,  as  the  Wilhelm ,  Kaiser  und  Konig  swept  up 
to  her  wharf  at  Coblentz,  and  the  bridge-of-boats  got  out  ol 
the  way  of  her  with  extraordinary  speed  and  discipline — that 
if  Ehrenbreitstein  was  to  be  taken,  within  any  length  of  time 
at  an  ordinary  mortal's  command,  the  best  plan  as  well  as  the 
cheapest  would  be  to  bombard  it  with  the  current  coin  of  the 
world,  in  overwhelming  quantity  ana  persistence. 

Coblentz,  as  of  this  journey,  must  be  taken  upon  trust,  as 
the  Artist  and  the  Governor  did  not  land  there,  and  the  latter 
could  only  refer  to  old  recollections  of  it.  it  stands  on  the 
diamond-shaped  point  of  land  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
Rmne  and  tne  Moselle  ;  and  one  would  think  that  it  had  very 
respectable  fortifications  of  its  own,  without  any  thanks  to  the 
beautiful  virago  over  the  river.  The  best  building  in  it  is  the 
Paiace  of  the  Bishop  of  Treves,  erected  only  about  one 
nundred  years  ago  ;  and  the  most  interesting  is  the  Church  of 
St.  Castor  (“  oil,”  suggested  by  the  Artist),  in  front  of  which 
Napoleon  put  up  his  arrogant  inscription  when  on  his  march 
to  Russia,  whiie  only  a  lew  montns  iater,  the  Russian  com¬ 
mandant  at  Coblentz  capitally  completed  by  satirizing  it. 
Below  tbe  junction  of  the  Rhine  and  Moseile,  and  opposite 
the  town,  is  the  monument  to  General  Marceau,  killed  at 
Altenkirclien  with  the  French  Republican  army  in  1796,  and 
alluded  to  by  Byron  in  •  Childe  Harold.'  There  is  not  much 
more  of  interest,  in  this  Key  of  the  Moselle  and  Central 
Oueen  of  the  Rnine,  umess  one  is  interested  in  knowing  that 
the  iVloseue  wines  come  down  here  in  great  quantities  and 
tneir  nest  excellence.  And  with  this  the  good  steamer  shoves 
away  from  her  pier,  scatters  the  bridge-ol-boats,  makes  a 
magical  lowering  of  her  apparent  height,  to  pass  under  the 
splendid  other  bridge  of  iron  open-work  which  supplies  the 
main  crossing  of  the  river,  and  is  off  up  that  upper  half  of  the 
Middle  Rnine  lying  between  Coblentz  and  Mayence —Captain 
Kluth  smilingly  handsome  on  the  paddle-box,  and  the  modern 
Damon  and  Pythias  (with  a  difference),  the  Artist  and  the 
Governor,  looking  out  for  something  new  to  reverence  and 
satirize,  as  the  rival  ideas  may  happen  to  strike  them. 


XVII. 

UP  THE  RHINE— COBLENTZ  TO  MAYENCE. 

It  is  at  about  Coblentz,  on  the  upward  passage,  that  that 
important  detail  in  the  voyager's  pleasure,  dinner,  usually 
comes  on  the  Rhine  steamers.  Shortly  after  leaving,  that 
day,  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  had  the  pleasure  of  dining 
in  the  saloon  of  the  steamer,  with  a  perfection  of  service  that 
would  not  have  shamed  the  best  hotel  on  the  Continent.  That 
dinner  had  one  defect,  however ;  it  was  taken  at  such  time  as 
only  allowed  them  to  give  a  very  hurried  greeting  to  the  sister 
steamer  of  the  line,  the  Dentscher  Kaiser,  coming  down  from 
Mayence.  There  was  another  point,  also,  which  may  or  may 
not  have  been  a  defect ;  the  meal  was  taken  in  the.  saloon  and 
not  on  the  open  promenade  deck,  where  the  Governor  once 
dined  on  the  same  steamer,  to  his  exceeding  pleasure,  and 
with  some  other  sensations  which  make  the  incident  worthy 
of  record. 

The  Governor,  on  that  occasion  as  on  this,  had  a  companion. 
Neither  of  the  two  (that  was  in  the  early  days,  seven  whole 
years  ago,  when  everybody  was  not  a  millionnaire) — neither  of 
the  two,  be  it  remarked,  had  in  pocket  or  in  circular  notes 
payable  on  demand,  such  a  sum  of  money  as  to  make  extrava¬ 
gance  prudent  if  the  whole  tour  was  to  be  made.  Say  that  the 
name  of  the  other,  for  this  occasion,  was  the  Cashier,  though 
that  moneyed  title  is  not  to  convey  any  additional  impression 
of  his  pecuniosity.  Well,  they  were  on  board  the  K.  &=  K.  W., 
going  up  from  Cologne,  as  now,  when  they  entered  into  con¬ 
versation  with  a  party  of  four  or  five  whom  they  found  on 
deck  and  discovered  to  be  Americans.  One  man  of  past  mid¬ 
dle  age  seemed  to  be  the  director  of  the  party;  and  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  it  was  composed  of  one  lady  of  middle  age,  one 
young  man,  and  two  girls  as  vivacious  as  pretty.  The  Cashier 
and  the  Governor  were  made  welcome  by  the  group,  and  in 
half  an  hour  became  very  nearly  travelling  companions.  Not 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


143 


to  mince  the  matter,  the  Governor  fell  a  little  in  love  with  one 
of  the  young  ladies,  and  the  Cashier  tumbled  into  the  deepest 
of  attachments  for  the  other.  Then  and  thenceforth  they 
were  enslaved,  and  very  willingly.  They  were  not  over  par¬ 
ticular  as  to  their  destination  beyond  Mayence,  though  they 
had  fancied  Heidelberg  as  their  first  place  of  rest  lor  any 
period.  The  party  of  five,  however,  declared  their  intention  of 
going  to  Ems  (where  Emperor  William  was  at  the  moment)  ; 
and  no  long  persuasion  on  the  part  of  the  fair  tempters  was 
needed  to  convince  the  two  that  they  were  also  going  to  Ems. 
Evidently  they  had  rather  a  nice  thing  in  the  way  of  compan¬ 
ionship  :  why  not  go  on  and  enjoy  it? 

Some  one  mentioned  dinner.  The  leader  of  the  party  en¬ 
quired  if  the  two  new  additions  to  his  party  would  not  like  to 
dine  with  them.  Wouldn’t  they?  They  were  going  to  dine 
on  deck  (i.  e.,  on  the  promenade),  and  had  already  ordered  the 
meal  to  be  served  there.  The  Governor  and  the  Cashier 
would  ioin  them  with  great  pleasure.  Had  they  any  prefer¬ 
ence  as  to  what  they  would  have  for  dinner  ?  or  should  he  tell 
the  steward  to  make  the  covers  seven  instead  of  five,  and  to 
increase  the  order  for  food  correspondingly  ?  Oh,  the  latter, 
by  all  means  !  And  wines — had  they  any  choice  about  wines  ? 
His  party  had  ordered  some  of  a  rather  good  vintage  ;  should 
he  increase  the  order  according  to  number?  At  this  point 
the  Governor  grew  effusive,  and  requested  the  leader  to  simply 
allow  his  friend  and  himself  to  dine  with  his  party,  he  being 
the  director  of  everything, — and  to  pay  their  share  of  the 
whole,  as  two-sevenths,  besides  thanks  impossible  to  pay. 
Very  well,  then  ;  and  so  the  thing  was  settled. 

In  due  time,  and  very  soon  after  leaving  Coblentz,  the  din¬ 
ner  for  seven  was  served  on  the  promenade  deck,  and  the 
party  of  seven  sat  down  to  it.  And  a  dinner  it  was,  worth 
remembering.  Lucullus  could  not  have  ordered  a  better,  or 
Apicius  selected  better  material.  Fish,  flesh  and  fowl,  fruits 
and  dessert,  were  all  beyond  criticism.  And  for  the  wines — 
the  Cashier  was  heard  to  say,  at  a  certain  point  of  the  ban¬ 
quet,  that  if  the  blended  fragrances  from  all  the  best  vintages 


U  4 


OVER  KALF-EUROPE. 


of  the  earth  could  be  compressed  into  one,  the  result  would 
not  excel  the  bouquet  of  a  certain  bottle  which  came  on  a 
little  late.  Then  the  service — it  was  simply  worthy  of  the 
Reform  Club.  And  this  paradisiacal  performance  went  on,  on 
the  open  deck  of  a  fine  steamer  on  the  Rhine,  with  glorious 
scenery  all  around,  pleasant  company  partaking,  and  the 
smiles  of  two  lovely  girls  making  the  hearts  of  two  men,  old 
enough  to  have  known  better,  beat  double  tattoos  under  their 
waistcoats.  Really  there  was  not  much  more  to  be  asked  for 
in  this  mortal  life  ;  and  the  two  fortunate  fellows  congratu¬ 
lated  themselves  on  being  allowed  to  join  such  a  party  and 
travel  under  the  guidance  of  a  man  who  knew  so  well  how  to 
order  a  dinner. 

About  an  hour  later,  all  this  changed  materially,  though 
they  were  then  among  the  most  bewildering  beauties  of  the 
Rhine;  for  the  waiter  brought  the  bill,  and  they  saw  the 
leader  pay  it.  Only  an  amount  equivalent  to  eighty-four 
dollars,  gold,  for  the  seven — twelve  dollars  gold,  each,  and  gold 
in  America  at  about  thirty  premium  !  They  paid  their  share  of 
that  dinner;  the  smiles  of  the  two  girls  suddenly  losing  their 
lustre,  and  the  two  friends  as  suddenly  discovering  that  they 
could  not  go  on  to  Ems  with  the  party,  but  must  go  ashore  at 
Bieberich  for  Frankfort.  One  dinner  like  that  might  do,  but 
two  or  three  would  finish  up  their  tour  rather  suddenly.  They 
could  not  very  well  afford  to  eat  dinners  with,  and  travel  in 
the  stvle  of,  one  whom  they  discovered  to  be  one  of  the 
richest  bankers  of  California  !  And  they  could  not  afford  to 
drink  any'  more  of  that  wine  of  the  wonderful  bouquet,  which 
proved  to  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  original  Johannis- 
berger,  abstracted  from  Prince  Metternich’s  cellar,  and  set 
down  in  the  bill  at  an  amount  equal  to  fifteen  American 
dollars  ! 

“Well,  I  never  fell  into  such  a  scrape  in  my  life,  before,” 
said  the  Cashier,  when  they  were  for  a  moment  alone,  below 
decks.  “  Did  you,  Governor?  ” 

“Yes,  a  good  many  times,  in  a  milder  way,”  answered  the 
otner  victim;  “and  I  once  tumbled  into  one,  nearly  of  the 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


145 


Same  kind,  that  seems  to  have  taught  me  nothing.  I  went 
into  the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs,  at  Versailles,  once,  with  poor 
Ned  •  Kingston,  to  get  a  cheap  lunch,  because  wre  wrere  a 
little  low  in  funds  for  what  lay  before  us.  And  we  did  the 
economical  by  ordering,  to  finish  our  lunch,  two  bunches  of 
white  grapes  that  we  saw  hanging  there.  \Ye  found,  when 
we  had  eaten  them,  that  they  were  the  first  of  the  vintage, 
hung  there  for  show  ;  and  we  paid  thirty  francs,  or  six  dollars 
gold,  for  them,  without  shedding  a  tear.” 

The  Artist  and  the  Governor  dined  differently,  on  this  occa¬ 
sion,  as  already  recorded ;  and  they  had  no  embarrassing 
recollections,  as  they  swept  away  from  Coblentz,  to  prevent 
their  enjoying  the  grand  scenery  of  this  upper  half  of  the 
day’s  journey.  They  saw,  in  the  Castle  of  Stolzenfels,  rising 
on  the  right,  one  of  the  innumerable  residences  of  the  Em¬ 
peror-King,  many  towered,  bowered  in  woods,  and  standing 
at  such  height  above  the  river  as  must  at  once  make  the 
atmosphere  wondrously  clear  and  the  view  from  it  ravishing. 
They  pronounced  the  ensemble  of  the  clustered  and  uneven 
towers  perfect,  but  did  not  make  out  (who  ever  did  ?)  what 
was  the  subject  of  the  historical  picture  on  the  front  of  the 
central  pile.  They  remembered  that  here  that  sovereign, 
when  only  King  of  Prussia,  entertained  Oueen  Victoria  and 
Prince  Albert,  in  1845.  and  that  the  interior  decorations  are 
said  to  be  very  magnificent,  while  the  antiques  and  other  curi¬ 
osities  are  very  rare,  and  embrace  swords  of  the  three  men  of 
Waterloo — Napoleon,  Wellington  and  Blucher.  And  then, 
having  no  imperio-royal  invitation  to  ascend  to  that  pleasant 
height,  without  paying  for  admission  as  to  a  museum,  they 
took  the  obvious  alternative  and  passed  on. 

But  here  a  picture  seldom  or  never  seen  in  America,  and 
worthy  of  being  long  remembered.  Just  below  Oberlanstein, 
on  the  left,  stands  the  Johanniskirche,  held  to  enjoy  peculiar 
privileges  and  sanctity.  And  at  the  moment  when  the  steamer 
came  opposite,  apparently  the  whole  population  of  the  little 
town  (possibly  of  Horchheim)  lying  below  it,  seemed  to  be 
passing  in  procession,  in  honor  of  the  day  of  Corpus  Christi, 


146 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


from  the  town  to  the  church.  The  robed  priests  walking  in 
front;  the  Host  carried  under  acanopy,  next  them;  then  a 
body  of  priests  following;  then  another  body  of  black-robed 
and  white-capped  nuns  or  sisters  ;  and  then  the  populace, 
walking  in  procession,  decently  and  in  order  ;  two  or  three 
banners  floating  among  them,  and  adding  to  the  number  of 
the  bits  of  color  appropriately  breaking  the  sombreness  of  the 
main  procession  ;  and  over  the  river,  as  they  walked,  a  sweet, 
solemn  chant  coming  fitfully,  to  add  sound  to  what  was  so 
beautiful  to  the  eye.  “  Ah,  that  Catholic  Church  !  ”  exclaimed 
the  Governor  to  the  Artist,  when  they  had  passed  and  the 
chant  had  died  away.  “Ah,  that  Catholic  Church,  to  which 
neither  you  nor  I  belong,  and  which  we  fight  occasionally — 
what  pictures  it  presents,  after  all,  for  the  eyes  that  are  weary 
of  the  world  !  And  how,  all  said,  the  world  is  perhaps  no 
older  or  wiser  than  it  was  a  thousand  years  ago,  and  there  is 
nothing  new  under  the  sun.” 

“  Is  there  not  ?  Hark,  and  look  !”  was  the  reply  of  the  Ar¬ 
tist,  with  pointed  finger.  And  as  the  Governor  looked,  there 
rushed  up  the  railway  track,  from  below,  a  flying  locomotive 
with  a  train  of  flying  carriages  behind  it — such  as  they  had 
seen  several  times  before  during  the  day,  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  and  were  to  see  again  repeatedly  before  night.  But  at 
that  moment  it  had  a  peculiar  significance,  and  no  words  of 
the  Artist  were  needed  to  point  it  out.  There  was  something 
new  under  the  sun  ;  and  though  the  monks  and  priests  might 
carry  the  Host  with  all  the  ceremonies  of  a  thousand  years 
ago,  the  world  was  moving  with  the  power  of  steam,  the  tele¬ 
graph,  and  the  widening  press  of  the  age  ;  and  whatever  should 
prove  useless  as  well  as  antiquated  (only  that)  must  eventually 
go  down  before  it. 

And  so,  on  the  good  steamer  went  past  Oberlanstein  and 
Braubach,  and  Filsen,  and  other  places  on  the  left  (right  bank), 
and  Konigstuhl,  and  Rhense,  and  Boppard,  and  still  others,  on 
the  right;  and  then  a  name  was  called,  and  a  great  mass  of 
crumbling  stone  heaved  itself  into  view  ahead,  still  at  the 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


147 


right  of  the  line  of  vision,  both  of  which  set  the  pulse  thrilling 
as  not  every  old  stronghold  can  do,  even  on  the  Rhine — St. 
Goar. 

And  what  is  St.  Goar,  other  than  a  small  Rhine  town,  with 
Rheinfels  a  mighty  mass  of  crumbling  masonry  behind  it? 
And  what  was  it  ever,  save  one  of  the  monkish  strongholds, 
with  no  special  interest  except  to  the  men  of  its  time  whom  it 
protected  or  injured  ?  What  more,  of  St.  Goar,  than  of  any 
other  of  the  Rhine  towns  about  which  one  knows  little  or 
nothing?  Why,  this,  propounder  of  questions  that  may  mean 
so  much  or  so  little  :  St.  Goar  has  been  touched  by  the  finger 
of  genius,  in  one  of  the  noblest  poetical  creations  of  the 
century.  It  was  from  this  monkish  stronghold  that  the  priest 
was  brought,  to  marry  Count  Otto  and  his  mysterious  bride, 
in  Winthrop  Machworth  Praed’s  wierd  and  wonderful  “Bridal 
of  Belmont;’’  and  it  was  of  this  old  pile  that  Count  Otto 
spoke,  when  ordering  the  maiden  of  the  river  to  sing  the 
priest  an  Ave  Mary : 

“  And  if  she  refuse 

The  ditty,  Sir  Priest,  thy  whim  shall  choose  : 

Row  back  to  the  house  ot  old  St.  Goar  ; 

I  never  bid  priest  to  bridal  more.” 

What  if  there  was  a  religious  house  founded  here  so  long  as 
A.  D.  570,  when  Siegbert  was  king  of  Austrasia?  And  what 
if  the  old  town  was  for  a  long  time  the  capital  of  the  Hes¬ 
sian  Lower  Grafschaft  ?  Once  more,  all  this  goes  down  and 
fades  away  in  the  fact  that  the  priest  of  the  loveliest  legend  of 
the  Lurleiberg  came  from  here,  and  that  here  he  no  doubt 
returned  (equally  disgusted  and  frightened)  when  the  water- 
maiden  faded  away  at  the  first  sweep  of  the  harp,  and  nothing 
remained  of  her  but  a  few  tears  glistening  on  the  golden  frame 
and  broken  strings. 

The  really  matchless  appearance  of  St.  Goar,  from  the  river, 
is  largely  due  to  the  mighty  ruins  of  Rheinfels  rising  behind  it 
and  often  believed  to  be  the  monkish  stronghold  itself.  This 
was  once  the  strongest  fortress  on  the  Rhine,  and  has  been 
called  “the  Ehrenbreitstein  of  the  Middle  Ages.”  It  was 


11 


148 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


founded  so  far  back  as  1245,  strengthened  once  and  again, 
and  remained  a  formidable  fortress  until  1758,  when  the  French 
took  it,  afterwards  leaving  it  and  repeating  the  taking  with 
the  Revolutionary  forces  of  1794.  Then  it  was  blown  up,  or 
soon  after ;  and  since  then  it  has  been  probably  of  more  use 
than  ever  before,  as  the  noblest  of  all  the  Rhine  ruins  ;  so  that 
*t  is  good  to  be  sure  that  it  will  never  be  rebuilt  and  thus 
spoiled  ! 

It  is  only  a  little  above  St.  Goar,  on  the  opposite  or  left  side 
of  the  river  to  the  traveller,  that  is  reached  what  may  be 
called  the  culmination  of  the  Rhine  as  a  legendary  stream,  and 
a  spot  perhaps  more  celebrated  in  fairy  romance  than  any 
other  in  the  world.  This  is  the  Lorelie  Rock,  or  Lurleiberg 
(in  the  German,  “  Lurleifelsen  ”).  It  is  a  huge  picturesque 
mass  of  rough  crags,  not  beetling,  but  battered  and  seamed 
and  crossed  in  every  direction  by  what  may  be  called  the  vein 
or  grain  of  the  rock.  Much  more  severely  strong,  it  yet 
bears  a  resemblance  to  some  of  the  more  craggy  heights  of 
the  Hudson,  below  West  Point,  while  here  and  there  a  bit  of 
the  Palisades  may  remind  one  of  it.  But  that  Lurley  Rock  ! 
— what  has  it  not  been  to  the  poets,  weaving  romance  after 
romance  and  fancy  after  fancy  around  the  one  central  idea, 
through  so  many  centuries  that  the  very  origin  of  the  whole 
is  lost  in  something  darker  than  the  “  dark  ages.”  Some  one 
fancied,  once,  that  a  fairy  being,  of  the  mermaiden  order, 
supernaturally  beautiful,  was  always  swimming  about  at  the 
foot  of  these  rocks,  singing  a  sadly  sweet  song,  irresistibly 
attractive,  and  often,  after  the  fashion  of  “  fair  Gil  Morrice  ” 
and  the  Scottish  legend,  “combing  her  golden  hair.”  There 
was  always  an  idle  knight,  fishing  from  the  rocks  above,  and 
the  mermaiden  always  wooed  him,  while  he  grew  gradually 
maddened  with  her  beauty  and  her  music,  and  eventually 
forgot  the  earth  behind  him,  plunged  into  her  embrace,  and 
was  lost  forever.  Some,  as  Praed,  in  the  “  Bridal  of  Belmont,” 
already  alluded  to,  have  materially  varied  the  pretty  story.  In 
these  cases  the  river  temptress  has  fallen  madly  in  love,  too, 
with  the  handsome  knight  on  the  rocks  above,  allowed  herself 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


149 


to  become  discovered  as  a  half-drowned  maiden  in  the  river, 
and  to  be  carried  away  to  the  knight’s  castle.  There,  there  is 
always  one  catastrophe.  The  knight  insists  on  marriage,  and 
the  mermaiden  is  only  too  willing.  A  priest  is  sent  for  to 
perform  the  rite.  But  the  priest  cannot  marry  them  without 
shriving  the  intending  bride;  and  when  he  commences  to  use 
the  sacred  formula,  at  the  first  word  there  is  a  shriek,  and  the 
beautiful  half-demon  disappears. 

Such  is,  materially,  the  legend  of  the  Lurleiberg,  around 
which  De  La  Mothe  Fouque,  and  Praed,  and  a  score  of  the 
German  poets  have  woven  some  of  their  most  exquisite 
fancies,  until  the  place  much  more  belongs  to  them  than  to 
any  Rhine  Electorate  or  German  Empire  that  can  be  named. 
And  is  the  thought  all  idle,  however  hollow  and  baseless? 
Perhaps  not.  Perhaps  one  of  the  saddest  and  most  nregnant 
lessons  of  human  life  is  taught  here  at  the  foot  of  the  Lurlei¬ 
berg,  as  nowhere  else  on  earth — that  of  temptation.  Rank, 
station,  knightly  honor,  the  responsibilities  of  duty,  all  are  as- 
nothing  before  it,  after  a  certain  amount  of  sight  and  hear¬ 
ing  has  been  indulged  in  ;  and  the  victim  has  many  a  long  day 
of  mourning  over  his  degradation  as  well  as  his  loss,  when  the 
mists  of  his  infatuation  have  cleared  away  and  he  is  once 
more  his  unhappv  self. 

Perhaps,  too,  something  else  than  the  romantic  story  of  the 
Lorelie  is  taught  here  to-day  ;  for  the  Governor  and  the 
Artist,  musing  and  chatting  over  all  this,  and  full  of  the  very 
romantic  feeling  of  the  poets  and  romancists,  had,  on  that 
special  day,  another  of  those  shocks  of  the  new  and 
the  actual,  coming  to  them  not  long  before  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  Corpus  Christi  procession.  The  Lurleiberg 
is  railway  tunnelled  !  The  heart  of  the  mystery,  if  any  there 
was,  has  been  dug  out  by  dingy  men  with  pickaxes  and 
shovels-  Think  of  it  !  And  at  the  very  moment  when  they 
were  deep  in  recitations  of  Praed  and  the  other  poets  who 
must  always  be  “minor”  to  him,  there  was  a  shriek  which 
would  have  thrown  that  of  the  Lorelie  herself  into  the 
merest  silence,  and  a  train  broke  with  a  rush  and  roar  out 


150 


0 1 ER  HALF  E UROPE. 


of  the  hole  at  the  upper  edge,  and  went  madly  away  up  the 
Rhine  bank  toward  Lorch  and  johannisberg.  Then,  to  use  a 
modern  phrase,  they  “gave  it  up  !”  Evidently  there  was  no 
longer  a  spot  of  ground  on  the  wide  earth,  to  which  the  steam 
spirit  had  not  gained  access.  The  fancies  of  the  poets  were 
dwarfed  by  a  more  stupendous  if  a  rougher  reality;  and  they 
resigned  themselves  to  the  thought  of  being  whirled  by  rail, 
some  day,  through  the  Garden  of  Eden,  as  they  had  both 
irreverently  dashed  through  romantic  old  Conway  Castle  with  a 
feeling  of  entering  a  lady’s  boudoir  with  a  mucky  wheelbarrow. 
Still,  the  modern  has  its  advantages  !  They  would  not  have 
much  fancied  such  a  return  to  the  past  as  would  have  sent 
them  that  day  up  the  Rhine  in  a  row-boat;  and  so  submitted  ! 

Oberwesel  lies  not  far  beyond  St.  Goar,  on  the  right ;  and  it 
is  a  very  pretty  place,  with  very  romantic  scenery  around  it 
But  the  great  body  of  travellers  who  do  not  pay  very  close  at¬ 
tention  to  their  guide-books,  believe  that  the  crumbling  ruin 
near  it  is  really  Oberwesel,  instead  of  being  what  it  really  is — 
Schonberg,  or  “  Bright  Hill.”  This  old  castle  is  much  more 
than  a  name  to  those  who  trace  its  history  closely  ;  for  within 
its  walls,  that  had  other  births  of  consequence  of  a  warlike  and 
ambitious  race,  was  born  Frederick  Herman  of  Schonberg, 
who  fought  so  gallantly  in  the  French  service  as  to  conipel 
the  Spaniards  to  acknowledge  the  complete  independence  of 
Portugal  and  the  regal  rights  of  the  House  of  Braganza  ;  then 
was  for  awhile  in  the  Prussian  diplomatic  service  ;  and  finally 
served  under  William  of  Orange  in  his  conquest  of  England, 
and  died  at  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,  the  Marshal  Duke  of 
Schonberg,  when, 

“  Brave  Puke  Schonberg  lost  his  life, 

By  venturing  over  Boyne  Water.’’ 

Wine  and  poetry  are  somewhat  closely  blended  in  one  of 
the  next  points  of  importance,  also  on  the  right — Bacharach- 
But  this  must  be  dismissed  with  a  word  ;  for  most  of  the 
volume  of  rhymes  that  has  been  written  about  the  excellence 
of  the  Bacharach  wine,  is  quietly  forgotton  ;  and  the  Governor 
could  only  remember  of  the  celebrated  triplet  comparing  the 


UP  THE  RHINE. 


151 


“three  best  kinds  of  wine,”  that  “  Bacharach  on  the  Rhine  ” 
furnished  one  of  them.  A  little  below,  and  nearer  to  the  east¬ 
ern  bank  than  the  western,  stands  in  the  river  the  six-sided 
castle  known  as  the  Pfalz,  or  Palatinate,  with  a  church-like 
low  dome  rising  from  the  centre,  and  half  a  dozen  or  more  of 
smaller  spires  around  it.  It  is  said  to  have  been  erected  by 
Louis  II.,  Emperor,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  as  a  toll-house 
for  vessels  passing  up  and  down  the  Rhine  ;  and  whether  it 
has  any  use  or  not,  it  is  certainly  a  picturesque  object  in  the 
view,  with  the  town  of  Caub  on  the  bank  behind  it,  and  the 
remains  of  the  noble  castle  of  Gutenfels  on  the  rocky  heights 
above.  This  was  the  old  house  of  the  knights  of  Falkenstein  ; 
here  Richard,  Earl  of  Cornwall  and  son  of  the  English  King 
Henry  III.,  as  well  as  once  elected  Emperor  of  Germany,  fell 
in  love  with  Beatrice  of  Falkenstein  and  eventually  married 
her  ;  and  here  Napoleon,  about  1805,  set  his  mint  mark  on  it 
by  blowing  up  a  part  and  dismantling  the  remainder. 

Not  far  above  the  places  last  named,  and  on  the  spectator’s 
right,  at  near  a  very  sharp  turn  of  the  river  in  the  same  direc¬ 
tion,  stands  a  tower,  about  which  there  has  probably  been  as 
much  silly  speculation  vented,  as  any  other  building  on  the 
habitable  globe.  They  call  it  the  Mouse  Tower.  And  first  one 
tells  a  story  of  it,  that  there  were  two  brothers,  one  of  whom 
built  a  castle  on  the  height  opposite  (now  ruined  Ehrenfels), 
and  called  it  the  Cat,  as  indicating  that  he  intended  to  catch  all 
passers  on  the  river,  while  the  other  built  this  below  and 
called  it  the  Mouse,  in  mock  humility.  But  the  more  import¬ 
ant  legend  is  that  of  Bishop  Hatto,  of  Bingen  (immortalized 
by  Southey,  but  by  no  means  originated  by  him)  who,  in  time 
of  coming  famine,  bought  up  all  the  corn,  and  stored  it  in  this 
tower,  starving  the  people,  until  the  rats  scented  the  grain  in 
the  building  and  swam  off  to  it,  to  the  number  of  a  few  mil¬ 
lions,  and  ate  it  all,  and  ate  him ,  leaving  only  a  pile  of  neatly- 
picked  episcopal  bones.  Not  a  bad  story,  but  how  stupidly 
applied  !  For  the  name  is  the  Mouse  Tower — not  the  Ratzen 
Thurm,  as  it  would  be  if  rats  were  the  vermin  indicated  ;  and 
some  one  ought  to  re-make  that  legend,  and  give  it  a  shade 


152 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


more  of  consistency  if  not  of  credibility.  Perhaps  there  might 
be  a  trifle  of  difficulty  in  piecing  it  together,  from  the  fact 
that  there  really  never  was  any  Mouse  Tower  about  it,  but 
that  it  was  the  Manse  (or  Watch)  kept  on  transit  up  and  down 
the  Rhine, — and  that  it  is  so  to-day,  hoisting  signals  to  boats 
on  the  river,  to  slow  and  be  careful  against  collision,  when 
other  boats  are  coming  out  from  the  Nahe,  at  the  Binger- 
brucke  (Bingen  bridge)  behind  the  great  bluff  at  the  turn. 

All  this  is,  however,  “  of  no  consequence,”  as  Mr.  Toots 
might  say,  when  placed  beside  the  fact  that  just  here  and  now 
is  made  the  approach,  also  on  the  right,  to  the  handsome  and 
cleanly-looking  old  town  of  Bingen,  which  seems  to  have 
received  a  baptism  of  exceptional  neatness  from  the  location 
there  of  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Norton’s  charming  poem,  “  Bingen  on 
the  Rhine.”  It  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  Nahe, 
already  noted,  and  so  has  the  same  promontory  advantages 
as  Coblentz.  It  is  really  very  pleasant  and  attractive,  and 
bears  the  reputation  of  being  very  health}'  and  agreeable  as 
a  residence — not  to  mention  the  fact  that  it  has  a  wine-trade, 
and  consequently  wines,  worth  the  noting.  But  what  was  this, 
that  both  the  Artist  and  the  Governor  heard,  as  the  splashing 
of  the  wheels  ceased  and  the  steamer  was  for  the  time  still, 
at  the  wharf?  There  was  a  party  of  three  or  four,  English- 
looking  (they  may  have  been  Americans,  but  probably  were 
not),  one  of  whom,  a  spinster  of  forty,  with  curls  corkscrewed 
and  a  book  in  her  mitted  hand,  was  just  repeating,  as  the  two 
friends  passed — repeating,  with  eyes  sentimentally  rolled  up, 
four  lines  of  that  poem  (more  or  less) : 

“  Then  hang  the  old  sword  in  its  place — 

My  father’s  sword  and  mine  ; 

For  I  was  horn  at  Binjen , 

Dear  Binjen  on  the  Rhine.” 

The  Artist  made  a  grimace— the  Governor  made  an  answer¬ 
ing  one.  It  was  not  the  first  time  that  either  had  heard  the 
word  so  pronounced,  and  it  probably  would  not  be  the  last 
similar  experience.  But  at  that  moment  it  “  hit  them  hard,” 
to  quote  a  modern  phrase.  The  Artist  indicated  the  swallow- 


UP  THE  E UIINE. 


153 


ing  of  a  green  persimmon,  and  continued  the  composition, 
sotto  voce : 

“That  poem  is  somewhat  unhingein’, 

Witii  such  au  end  to  the  line.” 

“Yes,”  indorsed  the  Governor, — 

“How  it  sets  the  ears  a  cringin’: 

At  least  it  does  so  with  mine.” 

Finished  by  the  Artist,  with  : 

“  Like  the  yell  of  a  Modoc  Injin, 

Comm’  in  with  scalpin’  design.” 

The  moral  of  all  which  verbal  balderdash  is :  Do  examine 
dictionaries  and  gazetteers,  and  learn  to  pronounce,  at  least  a 
little,  before  extended  travelling!  Don’t  murder  one  of  the 
sweetest  poems  in  the  English  language,  and  one  of  the  often- 
est  repeated,  by  miscalling  the  German  word  “  Bing-en,”  “  Bin- 
jen,”  or  anything  else  that  rhymes  with  “  Injun.” 

With  Bingen  it  may  be  said  that  the  peculiar  glory  of  the 
Rhine  has  departed,  as  the  magnificent  rocky  wildness  has 
most  of  it  ceased  at  the  Lurleiberg.  The  banks  become  low, 
verdurous  and  partially  wooded,  though  still  very  beautiful — 
the  hills  swelling  upward  in  long  rolls  of  fertile  green,  and 
the  drooping  willows  along  the  banks  seeming  better  to  be¬ 
long  to  sunny  France  than  to  the  wild  and  rocky  Rhineland. 
Away  from  the  river,  to  the  left,  stands  the  Schloss  Johannis- 
berger,  or  chateau  of  Prince  Metternich,  looking  much  more 
like  a  square  gentleman’s-mansion  of  a  central  building  with 
two  lower  wings,  than  a  castle.  The  Artist,  when  it  was 
pointed  out  to  him,  did  not  believe  in  it  at  all.  “  Bah  !”  he 
said,  “you  cannot  pass  off  that  on  me.  as  anything  more  than 
Prince  Metternich’s  wine  house  or  possibly  his  stables.”  Yet 
he  came  to  believe  in  it  afterwards,  and  to  confess  that  it 
might  be  a  noble  residence,  especially  after  being  informed 
that  Napoleon  gave  it  to  his  dragoon,  General  Kellerman,  in 
the  conquest  days  of  both. 

Then  a  landing  at  Bieberich,  with  nothing  of  any  special 
interest  in  the  appearance  of  the  town — those  going  to  Wies¬ 
baden  disembarking  here  ;  and  then  on,  with  the  river  broad, 


154 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


low-banked  and  gentle.  The  oddest  of  all  odd  spires  of  a  cathe¬ 
dral  rising  ahead, — much  more  like  a  Turkish  mosque  than 
anything  else,  over  a  wilderness  of  clustering  roofs  ;  and  the 
end  of  the  voyage  proper  was  reached.  They  were  at  Mayence, 
bidding  a  regretful  goodby  at  once  to  the  Wilhelm,  Kaiser  and 
Konig,  and  to  good  Captain  Kluth,  whom  they  both  hope  some 
day  to  see  in  America  and  to  reciprocate  some  portion  of  his 
gentlemanly  attention,  even  if  they  cannot  guide  and  direct 
him  so  intelligently.  At  Mayence,  to  run  hastily  through  the 
huge  old  red-sandstone  cathedral,  with  that  semi-Saracenic 
upper  finish,  and  with  an  eventful  history  of  outrage  and  sacri¬ 
lege,  culminating  with  the  French  using  it  as  a  barrack  in 
1813,  after  the  manner  of  the  English  with  the  churches  of 
New  York  in  1 776.  They  sawthe  interior,  rich  with  the  mon¬ 
uments  of  the  Electors  ;  but  with  little  else  entitling  it  to  take 
place  beside  its  great  sisters,  so  lately  unveiling  their  glories 
to  the  eyes  of  the  travellers  And  not  even  the  statue  of  Gut- 
tenberg,  by  Thorwaldsen,  or  the  site  where  stood  the  house  of 
that  pioneer  of  printing,  could  awaken  in  the  minds  wearied 
out  with  the  Rhine  excitement,  any  absorbing  interest  in  the 
old  city,  however  important  a  link  it  supplied  in  the  chain  of 
towns  of  the  great  river,  commencing  at  Constance  and  end¬ 
ing  at  Rotterdam. 


XVIII. 

FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN,  AND  HEIDELBERG. 

Passengers  on  the  Rhine  steamers,  for  Frankfort-on-the- 
Main,  very  often  disembark  at  Bieberich,  whence  they  have 
direct  rail  (by  Wiesbaden,  very  near  Bieberich),  by  Castel 
and  Hochstadt,  to  Frankfort.  The  Governor  made  landing 
there  on  a  certain  day  of  the  summer;  and,  there  being  no 
longer  any  special  attraction  to  Wiesbaden,  owing  to  the 
stoppage  of  roulette  and  rouge-et-noir  there,  and  his  utter  ob¬ 
jection  to  unnecessary  baths,  whether  white  or  of  any  other 
color,  he  took  the  line  of  rail  just  noted,  and  in  an  hour  of 
pleasant  riding,  without  stopping  for  the  bath,  was  in  the  old 
city  on  the  Main,  which  has  so  long  boasted  of  being  one  of 
the  freest  of  the  “  Free  Cities.” 

Not  only  one  of  the  freeest  of  the  free  cities,  but  one  of  the 
oldest,  boasting  so  much  importance,  even  in  793,  that  Char¬ 
lemagne,  who  was  always  “  holding  ”  something,  somewhere, 
held  a  Council  here  in  that  year.  Also,  that  it  was  fortified  by 
his  successors,  as  one  of  the  keys  of  the  Rheingau,  in  838  to 
843,  and  erected  into  a  free  city  in  1154.  Leaping  suddenly  to 
the  late  from  the  far  past,  Napoleon  made  it  the  capital  of  a 
Grand  Duchy,  instead  of  merely  the  head  of  the  German  Con¬ 
federation  ;  and  in  1866  it  was  incorporated  with  Prussia,  and 
became  merely  one  of  the  great  cities  of  Germany.  But 
neither  Napoleon  nor  Kaiser  Wilhelm  could  change  the 
remembrance,  in  the  minds  of  the  Frankfurters,  that  for  ages 
the  German  electors  always  elected  and  crowned  the  Emperor 
here  ;  that  here  Goethe,  perhaps  the  most  universal  of  German 
favorites,  was  born  in  1749;  and  that  here  the  Rothschilds,  the 
first  of  all  the  capitalist  families  of  all  ages  on  the  earth,  had 
their  origin,  and  wove  the  golden  web  literally  enmeshing  half 
the  world. 

These  memories,  at  least,  were  running  through  the  mind 
of  the  history-worshipping  Governor,  as  he  disembarked  that 


156 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


day  from  the  train,  and  made  his  way  to  the  Romer,  or  Romer 
Halle,  on  the' Place  des  Empereurs,  unquestionably  the  most 
interesting  building  in  Germany  (for  what  it  has  contained 
and  for  what  it  contains),  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  in 
the  world.  There  is  not  much  of  the  picturesque  in  its  outer 
appearance,  except  that  the  extreme  age  is  undoubted,  in  spite 
ol  those  pestering  “  restorations,”  one  of  which  (equivalent  to 
the  forced  scrubbing  of  a  child  who  has  objections  to  the  treat 
ment)  the  old  building  underwent  in  1840.  Nor  is  there  much 
respect  paid  to  the  lower  part  of  the  structure,  within,  one 
would  think, — the  ground  floor  and  basement  being  used  as  a 
storage  place  for  merchandise  against  the  great  fairs  !  But  it 
contains  the  Kaisersaal  (Emperor’s  Hall)  on  the  first  floor — 
“  restored,”  but  not  ruined,  since  the  old  days  when  the  newly- 
chosen  Emperor  dined  here  with  the  Electors  who  had  elevated 
him  to  his  dignity,  and  then  showed  himself  to  the  people  from 
the  balcony  still  hanging  over  the  Romerberg,  the  square  in 
front. 

In  any  other  place,  and  under  any  other  circumstances,  the 
Governor  would  heap  anathemas  on  the  “restorers”  who, 
some  thirty  or  forty  years  since,  destroyed  the  antique  frescoes 
on  the  walls  of  this  gray  and  grand  old  hall.  But  he  cannot ; 
no,  he  cannot,  here  and  now.  They  did  well,  those 
“restorers”  and  the  “princes,  societies  and  private  indi¬ 
viduals,”  who  employed  them  and  paid  the  expenses  of  their 
work.  For  the  series  of  life-size  and  full-length  portraits  of 
the  Emperors,  clustered  like  so  many  bees  around  the  walls 
of  this  hall,  form  one  of  the  noblest  collections  in  the  world — 
noble  from  the  subjects  handled,  and  noble  in  the  research 
which  must  have  been  displayed  in  obtaining  so  many  absolute 
likenesses  from  quarters  supposed  inaccessible,  and  the  genius 
which  must  have  been  employed  in  the  work. 

A  wonderful  collection,  truly  !  Here,  in  the  imperial  Coro¬ 
nation  chair,  the  original  still  preserved  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
sits  Charlemagne,  aquiline-nosed,  forked-bearded  and  stern, 
wearing  the  six-sided  cross-topped  iron  crown,  with  sweeping 
robes,  holding  the  cross-crowned  ball  of  the  world  in  his  left 


FRANKFORT  AND  HEIDELBERG. 


157 


hand,  and  the  sword  Joyeuse  by  the  hilt  across  his  lap  with  the 
right ;  Louis  the  Debonnaire,  broad-bearded  and  stately,  with 
right  hand  on  side  and  the  left  holding  the  sword  point  down¬ 
ward,  stands  with  his  robes  covering  a  width  nearly  the  same 
as  his  height ;  Louis  the  Germanic,  half-robed  and  tunicked, 
with  short  beard,  long  hair,  and  grave,  noble  face,  holds  the 
scroll  of  “  Vero  ”  in  the  left  hand  and  lifts  the  right  heaven¬ 
ward,  taking  the  oath  ;  Arnulph,  fierce-faced,  strides  forward 
with  banner  in  his  left  hand  and  unsheathed  sword  in  his 
right,  as  if  in  battle  ;  young  Otho  the  Third,  carrying  the  ball 
in  his  left  hand  and  holding  fiis  staff  in  his  right,  shows  a  face 
almost  sweet  enough  for  that  of  the  Christ;  Henry  the 
Second  (Saint  Henry)  has  a  grave  face,  worthy  of  his  saintly 
character;  Otho  the  Fourth,  in  mail,  and  carrying  an  enor¬ 
mous  spade-shield,  looks  up  with  too  fierce  a  glance  for  the 
monarch  who  ran  away  so  hastily  from  the  field  of  Bouvines ; 
Conrad  the  Salic  looks  the  warrior  that  he  was,  in  his  short 
garments,  many  weaponed,  and  with  threatening  while  attract¬ 
ive  face  ;  Henry  the  Fifth  presents  a  fit  embodiment  for  the 
German  Louis  XI.,  crafty  and  credulous  ;  Frederic  Barbarossa, 
in  his  shirt  of  mail  and  tunic,  with  long  fair  beard,  and  hand  on 
side,  leans  on  the  pedestal  of  a  column  and  seems  looking 
afar  off  for  his  mysterious  and  melancholy  fate  ;  Rudolph  of 
Hapsburg,  in  full  armor  and  carrying  his  broad  shield,  proudly 
holds  his  flag  to  the  winds,  as  on  a  stricken  field  ;  Frederic 
the  Handsome,  full  mailed  and  wearing  high  helmet- 
crown,  as  well  as  carrying  shield,  seems  the  most 
pompous  as  well  as  the  handsomest  of  his  line  ;  Gunther 
of  Schwarzburg  wears  full  armor  and  a  round  skullcap, 
and  carries  a  perfect  arsenal  of  the  weapons  which  did  not 
keep  him  from  being  the  Unfortunate;  Wenceslaus,  in  the 
dress  of  a  Swiss  forester,  with  crossbow  and  horn,  looks  far 
more  like  scaling  a  mountain  than  ascending  a  throne  ;  Maxi¬ 
milian,  in  full  armor,  stately  and  handsome,  presents  the  very 
knightly  face  and  figure  that  might  be  expected  of  the  man 
who  courted  and  won  Mary  of  Burgundy  in  the  disguise  of  a 
poor  knight  of  the  Empire  ;  and  Charles  the  Fifth,  with  bared 


158 


O  VER  HA LF  E  UROPE. 


head,  eyes  looking  modestly  downward,  shoulders  slightly 
stooped,  and  wearing  the  Golden  Fleece  and  a  furred  surcoat 
over  full  body  armor,  presents  a  notable  face  and  figure, 
having  a  strange  future  in  the  abdication  and  the  long  seclu¬ 
sion  in  the  Monastery  of  Yuste. 

But  here  the  list  must  end,  with  the  remark  repeated  that 
the  array  is  a  noble  one,  and  that  Germany  could  almost  bet¬ 
ter  spare  anything  else  within  her  borders  than  the  old  Roraer 
of  Frankfort,  and  the  likenesses,  however  many  of  them  may 
be  flattered  or  imaginary,  of  her  long-dead  Emperors. 

The  most  natural  of  “  drifts  ”  following,  was  that  to  the  Cathe¬ 
dral,  an  impressive  structure,  but  by  no  means  capable  of 
vieing  with  many  of  its  rivals.  It  contained  the  old  carved 
chair,  however,  in  which  all  the  early  emperors  were  crowned  ; 
and  the  Governor,  being  taken  captive  by  a  mischievous  girl 
of  the  party  chance -drifted  together,  was  forced  down  into 
that  very  old  chair  and  crowned  with  a  hastily-constructed 
diadem  of  newspaper,  the  result  of  the  coronation  being  that 
he  has  ever  since  doubted  whether  he  was  at  the  moment 
invested  with  a  crown  or  mocked  with  a  fool’s  cap.  There  is 
a  fine  old  tomb  of  the  Emperor  Gunther,  with  a  very  antique 
gilt  effigy,  balanced  by  another  effigy  of  the  Emperor  Rudolph 
of  Sachsenhausen,  horn  nearly  within  sound  of  the  cathedral 
bell  ;  and  if  one  was  not  a  little  surfeited  with  the  old  and  the 
historic,  the  Cathedral  of  Frankfort  would  be  worth  a  long 
visit  and  close  examination  of  a  variety  of  antique  relics. 

But  something  else  was  calling — something  else  than  the 
reminiscences  of  mere  emperors,  who  could  be  made  by  the 
sword  or  the  voice  of  a  people.  At  No.  23  Hirschgraben,  near 
the  Rossmarkt,  stood  the  plain  and  respectable  house  where 
Goethe  was  born  ;  and  thither,  as  to  something  more  sacred 
than  the  scene  of  any  imperial  reminiscence,  the  party  wended. 
Over  the  door  is  a  tablet  bearing  the  inscription  :  “In  Diesem 
Hause  wurde  Johann  Wolfgang  Goethe  am  28.  August,  1749, 
Geboren.”  The  poet’s  arms  are  also  over  the  door — three 
lyres  and  a  star,  not  inappropriate,  however  denoting  plenty 
of  self-consciousness.  Plain  old  rooms,  those  shown  as  the 


FRANKEOR  T  AND  HEIDELBERG. 


159 


one  in  which  he  was  born,  his  play-room  study  in  later  years, 
&c.,  and  the  rooms  in  the  attic  where  he  lived,  later  on,  in  1773 
to  1775,  and  wrote  “  Werther  ”  and  “  Goetz  von  Berlichingen 
plain,  but  full  of  the  memory  of  one  of  the  first  geniuses  of  the 
world,  who,  in  giving  to  that  world  the  embodiment  of  “  Faust, “ 
took  rank  beside  Homer  and  Shakespeare.  The  house  has  a 
noble  bust  of  Goethe,  and  many  pictures  and  autographs,  and 
a  fountain  in  the  yard  for  which  he  always  held  a  special 
affection.  It  is  a  pilgrimage  worth  making,  that  to  the  Goethe 
House  at  Frankfort;  let  no  one  who  follows  the  Governor 
there,  fail  to  recognize  that  this  is  one  of  the  places  spoken  of 
by  Halleck : 

“ - The  Delphian  Vales,  the  Palestines, 

The  Meccas  of  the  mind.” 

Oddly  enough,  the  next  most  interesting  name  belonging  to 
Frankfort,  is  the  one  so  different  from  his  own,  and  denoting 
so  different  a  character — that  of  Rothschild,  which  family 
sprung  into  celebrity  here.  The  impecunious  visitor  shuddered 
a  little,  passing  Rothschild’s  office  on  the  Fahrgasse,  and  re¬ 
membering  the  difference  of  two  bank  accounts.  Then  he  saw 
the  great  banker’s  birthplace,  at  No.  148  of  the  dingy  and  dirty 
old  Judengasse — one  of  a  row  of  very  old  peaked-roofed  houses, 
now  with  a  range  of  boots  in  the  window  and  commonly  with 
the  face  of  a  withered  old  woman  behind  the  boots.  The  Ju¬ 
dengasse  is  a  picturesque  quarter,  with  most  of  the  houses  of 
two  stories  and  two  attics  added  ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  it 
is  inviting,  even  to  a  borrower,  or  that  the  laws  of  hygiene  are 
too  well  observed  there.  But  not  far  away,  on  the  corner  of 
the  Kannengeistgasse  (oh,  that  some  one  would  translate 
that  name  !)  is  the  house  where  Doctor  Martin  Luther  once 
lived — very  old,  as  it  needs  to  be,  and  still  well-kept  and  re¬ 
spectable,  with  a  bas-relief  portrait  of  the  old  Reformer  on  the 
doorpost. 

Then  there  is  a  grand  monument  to  Gutenberg  on  the 
Grossmarkt,  with  Faust  on  one  side  of  him  and  Schtiffer  on 
the  other — the  group  by  Launitz,  who,  in  the  accessories, 
has  honored  all  the  arts  and  many  of  the  leading  typographi- 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


160 

cal  cities.  And  Goethe  has  a  noble  monument  in  bronze,  not 
far  away,  in  the  Goethe  Platz,  on  the  Allee  at  the  north  of  the 
town.  And  in  the  Schiller  Platz  is  a  fine  dark  bronze  statue 
of  the  author  of  “  Wallenstein  ”  and  the  “  Song  of  the  Bell.” 
And  then  the  most  interesting  object  remaining,  to  one  who 
had  no  more  time  at  command  than  the  Governor,  and  who 
had  no  financial  longings  for  the  Frankfort  Bourse  (one  of 
the  most  extensive  in  influence,  as  well  as  one  of  the  hand¬ 
somest  of  commercial  buildings)  was  the  room  with  three  win¬ 
dows,  in  the  Theatre  Platz,  where  Bismarck  and  Jules  Favre 
signed  the  Franco-German  treaty  in  1871,  and  thus  concluded 
the  shortest  and  most  momentous  war  on  record. 

The  Governor  left  Frankfort  at  three  o’clock  of  that  busy 
and  eventful  day,  crossing  the  Main,  with  its  fleet  of  boats 
moored  at  the  banks  ;  listening  with  amused  wonder  to  the 
number  of  words  that  could  be  spoken  in  a  minute,  by  a 
group  of  German  students  on  their  way  to  Heidleberg,  and 
seeing  with  equal  admiration  the  number  of  pipes  they  could 
smoke  within  the  hour.  After  a  time,  he  had  the  grand  half- 
ruined  old  castle  of  Eberstadt  on  a  high  hill  on  the  left,  and 
vainly  tried  to  remember  whether  Luther  was  not  at  one  time 
a  fugitive  there.  Then,  after  a  little  longer  time,  and  more 
gabble  and  smoking  on  the  part  of  the  students,  the  Cat 
mountains  (Phoebus,  what  a  name! — even  worse  than  the 
Catskills  !)  rose  grandly  to  the  left  and  ahead.  Then  they 
crossed  the  little  Neckar,  over  very  low  water,  with  many 
picturesque  castles  crowning  the  heights,  again  at  the  left; 
then  had  dim  visions  of  the  Castle  and  the  Konigstuhl ;  then 
they  once  more  crossed  the  Neckar  (which  one  would  think 
might  be  ruffled  by  such  treatment);  and  as  the  dusk  fell,  the 
train,  the  still  gabbling  and  smoking  students,  and  the  half- 
dazed  and  altogether  weary  Governor,  were  at  Heidelberg. 

Something  of  the  same  nature  may  be  said  of  Heidelberg, 
elsewhere  ventured  with  reference  to  Cologne  :  to  the  student 
of  history  and  the  picturesque,  it  principally  consists  of  the 
Castle,  certainly  the  grandest  remain,  the  most  stupendous 
ruin,  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  The  Governor  climbed  to  it, 


FRANKFORT  AND  HEIDELBERG. 


161 


on  the  morning  after  his  arrival,  refreshed  and  strengthened 
by  the  good  beds  and  generous  fare  of  the  Hotel  de  1'Europe. 
The  climb,  in  other  words,  the  long  walk  steeply  up-hill,  was 
no  trifle  to  the  plethoric.  But  what  of  that,  with  that  which 
lay  ahead,  with  the  splendid  views  caught  over  Heidelberg, 
the  Neckar,  and  the  whole  historic  landscape,  as  a  consider¬ 
able  height  was  attained,  and  with  the  bells  of  the  city,  call¬ 
ing  to  the  Sabbath  early  service,  coming  up  so  sweetly  on  the 
air  of  the  calm  summer  morning  ! 

This  colossal  and  beautiful  remain,  the  Castle  of  Heidelberg, 
stands  on  the  side  of  the  Konigstuhl  (“  King's  footstool”), 
only  some  400  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Neckar,  though  it 
seems  to  be  at  least  a  thousand.  Seen  from  any  considerable 
distance,  it  to-day  presents  the  appearance  of  a  palace  of  vast 
extent,  incorporating  some  of  the  turrets  of  a  castle  ;  and  it 
needs  the  second  and  much  closer  view  to  know  that  it  is 
ruined  and  altogether  uninhabitable.  When  approached,  it  is 
a  bewildering  mass  of  grandeur  in  masonry — fortification  and 
ornamentation  so  mingled  that  the  thought  becomes  confused 
over  it,  and  desolation  made  beautiful  by  the  materials  on 
which  it  has  wrought. 

The  castle  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  by  Ludwig  the 
Severe,  son-in-law  of  the  first  German  Emperor,  Rudolph  of 
Hapsburg,  at  near  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century.  The 
Rupert’s  Tower  was  built  by  the  Elector  Rupert  III.,  who  was 
elected  Emperor  in  1400.  The  Elector  Frederic  I.,  the  Victo¬ 
rious,  materially  enlarged  the  building  ;  and  several  of  the 
Electors  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  especially 
Otto  Heinrich,  Frederic  IV.,  and  Frederic  V.  (the  latter  of 
whom  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  I,  of  England, 
and  became  King  of  Bohemia)  made  additions  of  palace-like 
splendor  to  what  had  before  been  merely  a  grand  fortress. 
In  the  Thirt3r  Years’  War,  which  devastated  half  Europe,  it 
suffered  seriously;  and  in  1689  the  French  General  Melac 
blew  up  what  he  could  of  the  noble  old  pile,  and  destroyed 
all  destructible  objects  of  beauty  that  fell  in  his  way.  But 
one  thing  more  remained,  and  that  came.  In  1764  it  was 


162 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


struck  by  lightning,  and  all  that  would  burn  was  burned. 
From  that  time,  only  the  walls  remained  ;  but  enough  was 
left,  and  enough  is  still  left  in  this  last  quarter  of  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century,  to  justify  the  remark  already  made,  that  it  is 
the  noblest  ruin  on  earth.  Pieces  of  it,  and  fragments  of 
many  of  the  ornamentations,  have  been  carried  away,  all  over 
the  earth,  by  the  unconscionable  vandals  (one  leaf  from  a 
capital  lies  before  the  writer,  as  he  writes);  but  still  enough 
remains,  in  towers,  turrets,  balconies,  stairways,  courts,  and 
the  outlines  of  chambers,  to  justify  the  guide-book  phrase 
which  calls  it  the  “  Alhambra  of  the  Germans.” 

No  attempt  is  here  to  be  hazarded  at  description  ;  the  sea  is 
not  more  indescribable.  The  Governor  only  knows  that  he 
wandered  among  fallen  columns,  amid  relics  alike  of  artistic 
taste  and  military  strength,  with  statues  all  around  him, 
upright  and  prostrate,  until  he  only  knew  that  the  world  had 
nothing  like  it,  in  construction  and  demolition,  and  thanked 
heaven  that  there  had  been  one  round-tower  which  the  French 
powder  was  not  strong  enough  to  overthrow,  so  that  it  only 
toppled  and  remains  to-day  but  half-fallen.  Nothing  can  be 
so  sad,  and  yet  nothing  so  glorious,  as  what  were  once  noble 
halls  and  magnificent  gardens,  alike  choked  with  carved 
columns  and  fallen  statues:  nothing  can  be  so  pregnant  a 
comment  alike  on  the  pride  and  the  destructiveness  of  man,  as 
what  remains  of  grand  old  Heidelberg  Castle.  Around  it  the 
poets,  and  the  romantic  travellers,  have  thrown  the  halo  of 
their  fancies,  aiding  the  luxurious  ivy  and  the  irrepressible 
trees  in  hiding  every  rent  and  making  every  fragment  beautiful  ; 
and  so  it  may  be  left  to  the  hands  of  the  coming  ages. 

The  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  (present  sovereign  of  Heidelberg) 
has  magnificent  fish-ponds  at  the  Wolfsbrunnen,  a  few  miles 
away  down  (or  up)  the  Neckar,  and  a  favorite  resort  of  the 
students;  and  the  Governor  rode  down  there,  and  saw  some 
of  the  finest  trout  on  the  globe  Avith  the  single  exception  of 
those  at  the  Tahoe  Fisheries  ear  Lake  Tahoe,  on  the  borders 
of  California).  He  tried  to  buy  the  privilege  of  fishing  in  the 
ponds,  for  only  one  hour,  and  was  indignantly  repelled  The 


FRANKFORT  AND  HEIDELBERG. 


163 


fact  is  merely  mentioned,  so  that  others  may  not  make  the 
same  costly  effort  and  meet  with  the  same  signal  failure. 
Nearly  a  corresponding  ill-success  attended  an  attempt  to  buy 
and  remove  to  Hoboken  the  celebrated  Heidelberg  Tun,  of  the 
capacity  of  49,000  gallons  (why  not  50,000  ? — why,  oh,  why 
scant  it  that  one  miserable  thousand  ?)  which  stands  in  one  ol 
the  vaults  below  the  Castle,  with  a  wooden  figure  of  one  of 
the  old  court-jesters  near  it,  and  a  second  tun  of  only  about 
30,000  gallons  capacity,  mouldering  away  with  envy  in  a  near 
corner. 

The  fact  is  disgraceful,  but  writing  of  one  of  the  most  cele¬ 
brated  of  the  German  University-towns,  the  Governor  knows 
nothing  and  troubles  himself  less  about  Heidelberg  Univer¬ 
sity.  He  saw  it,  on  the  Ludwigsplatz,  regarded  it  with  a 
shudder,  and  passed  on.  Whether  the  thought  of  the  alleged 
duelling,  and  the  effect  produced  by  it  on  the  Heidelberg 
students’  faces  (they  are  not  handsome,  most  of  them,  as 
transiently  seen) — whether  this,  or  dread  of  the  vast  learning 
there  accumulated,  most  moved  him,  who  shall  say  ?  Then 
he  did  not  ascend  the  Konigstuhl,  from  the  Castle,  as  he 
might,  could,  would  and  should  have  done,  but  for  various 
reasons,  indolence  the  principal.  He  did  wander  down  by  the 
side  of  the  Neckar,  at  evening,  after  deciding  that  the  old 
town,  though  with  a  few  picturesque  features,  is  by  no  means 
rarely  attractive.  There  wandering,  and  trying  to  be  romantic 
over  the  pretty  stream,  the  walks  beside  it,  and  the  boats  cross¬ 
ing  it,  he  was  beset  by  so  many  millions  of  mosquitoes  (01 
were  they  gnats?)  that  he  indignantly  went  back  to  his  hotel, 
and  bade  goodby  to  Heidelberg  at  least  twenty-four  hours 
earlier  than  he  would  have  done  in  the  absence  of  that 
uncalled-for  and  umntermittent  blood-letting,  which  may 
have  begun  on  the  New  Jersey  marshes  or  at  Rockaway,  but 
has  certainly  reached  its  climax  along  the  Neckar  and  beside 
the  Adriatic. 


12 


ZKIXZS- 

A  PLEASANT  IIORROR,  AT  MUNICH. 

The  Governor  was  in  Munich,  the  magnificent  capital  of 
Bavaria.  He  had  reached  that  capital  from  Heidelberg,  in 
very  good  company,  and  yet  company  with  which  he  could 
not  always  keep  himself  thoroughly  amused.  He  had  fairly 
traversed  the  streets  of  the  city,  so  suddenly  grown  to  be  one 
of  the  handsomest  capitals  in  Europe,  since  the  accession  to 
power  of  Louis  I.,  who  seems  to  have  devoted  to  it  both  his 
fortune  and  his  life  ;  he  had  explored  the  churches,  with  some 
of  the  finest  stained  glass  in  the  world,  and  the  very  finest  of 
modern  manufacture  ;  he  had  visited  the  Royal  Palace,  to  see 
the  handsomest  throne-room  in  Europe,  in  white  and  gold, 
with  colossal  gilded  statues,  and  the  royal  bed-room,  with  so 
much  gold  bullion  on  the  bed  that  sleep  seemed  doubtful; 
and  the  Alt  Residenz,  to  see  the  noblest  cartoons  of  the 
century,  by  Kaulbach  and  others  ;  and  the  Pinacothek,  to  be 
bewildered  with  the  glory  of  a  mass  of  paintings  by  all  the 
great  masters  of  antique  and  modern  art,  scarcely  to  be 
paralleled  in  the  Louvre  or  at  Florence  ;  and  the  Schwan- 
thaler  Museum,  to  see  many  of  the  notables  of  the  world, 
embodied  in  statuary  as  glorious  as  their  best  works  and  as 
colossal  as  their  fame ;  and  the  great  bronze  foundry  of 
Muller,  to  see  bronze-work  intended  to  decorate  the  show- 
places  of  two  continents  ;  and  many  other  places  belonging 
to  the  Paris  of  Central  Europe,  all  proving  that  the  royal 
lover  ofLolaMontez  was  a  connoisseur  in  other  beauties  than 
there  represented  by  her  and  Wilhelmina  Sulzer  ;  and,  all  this 
done,  and  much  more  that  cannot  and  need  not  be  recalled 
(including  several  ineffectual  trials  at  drinking  the  celebrated 
Bavarian  beer),  he  grew  slightly  lonesome  if  not  ennuyte,  and 
took  various  and  sundry  walks  and  rides,  in  what  the  Scotch 
call  “  his  lane,”  to  his  profit  in  some  instances,  and  in  others 
to  the  enriching  of  his  recollection  with  what  he  would  quite 
as  willingly  forget  as  remember. 


ABOUT  MUNICH. 


165 


Among  the  strolls  from  the  Hotel  Bellevue,  to  which,  at 
this  time,  he  became  addicted,  was  a  favorite  one  to  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Garden  (Englischer  Garten)  tying  on  the  banks  of  the 
Iser,  and  containing  all  the  charms  of  the  favorite  promenades 
of  Continental  cities,— from  the  which,  in  addition  to  other 
attractions,  he  had  the  privilege  of  looking  oil  at  the  great 
range  of  the  Bavarian  Highlands,  cooling  his  imagination 
with  their  snow-peaks,  and  making  of  them,  for  the  time,  the 
Alps,  from  which  he  was  temporarily  debarred  during  some 
of  the  hottest  weather  in  memory. 

It  was  from  the  English  Garden,  on  one  of  those  very  hot 
days  when  rest  seemed  impossible  and  motion  was  discomfort 
—that  the  Governor  wandered  away,  guiltless  of  either  know¬ 
ing  or  caring  for  his  destination.  Without  beingat  all  enl  ight- 
ened,  he  at  last  found  himself  entering  a  cemetery,  not  even 
then  recognized  as  the  Great  Cemetery  of  Munich.  Not  espe¬ 
cially  enraptured  with  burial-places  in  general,  and  with  much 
more  fancy  for  reminders  of  people’s  living  than  their  dying, — 
the  miscellaneous  traveller  could  not  avoid  being  pleased  with 
this  special  City  of  the  Dead,  where  so  much  respect  for  those 
gone  beyond  mortal  reach  seemed  blended  with  so  much 
that  was  appropriate  in  inscription  and  decoration.  Loving 
hands  appeared  to  have  been  busy,  every  day  and  always,  not 
merely  placing  flowers  on  the  tombs  at  the  hour  of  burial,  and 
then  going  away  to  leave  them,  with  the  dead,  unconsidered, — 
the  dead  to  rot  and  the  flowers  to  hang  withered  and  unsightly 
—but  renewing  them  continually,  and  sprinkling  them  with 
moisture  only  less  sacred  than  the  tears  of  the  mourner. 
I1  or  in  front  of  tomb  after  tomb,  along  whole  streets  of  neatly 
kept  and  tasteful  monuments — in  front  of  each  was  a  little 
raised  font,  kept  filled  with  water,  for  the  purpose  of  reviving 
the  drooping  flowers,  as  the  lives  gone  out  within  could  not 
be  revived. 

Then,  what  could  be  more  prettily  suggestive  of  that  actual 
affection  which  the  living  like  to  believe  will  be  felt  for  them 
when  dead— than  such  simple  and  homely  inscriptions  as  the 
invaluable  note-book  that  day  took  down  in  fragments: 


168 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


“  Hier  ruhen  der  beste  Vater,  Gabriel  Sedelmann,  Bierbrauer 
und  Elligfabrikant,  geboren,”  &c.  “  Die  liebervosse  Mutter 

Franziska  Sedelmann,  geboren  Ileik.”  “Theresa  Wagner, 
Bierbrauer’s  Wittwe,”  &c.,  &c.  Then  there  was  some  sugges¬ 
tiveness  of  the  family,  existing  beyond  the  sad  day  of  burial, 
in  the  general  inscription  on  the  larger  tombs:  “  Familien 
Grabstatte,”  with  the  occasional  personal  additions  :  “  Ruhe- 

staette  fur  die  Familie  Von  Tausch.”  “  Hof  braumeister 
Pfleigersche  Grabstatte,”  and  many  others  of  similar  charac¬ 
ter.  Actually — the  observer  said  to  himself — these  Bavarians, 
with  so  many  other  features  to  command  respect  and  not  a 
few  to  awaken  the  opposite  sensation — these  Bavarians  have 
done  a  great  work  for  the  world  of  feeling,  in  contributing 
their  mite  to  make  the  idea  of  death  less  repulsive  than  it  is 
made  by  so  many  others ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  leave  the 
Cemetery  of  Munich  without  carrying  away  impressions  excep¬ 
tionally  pleasant.  A  remark  which  he  may  have  modified  at 
a  very  early  period. 

Passing  down  the  long  street  of  tombs  which  seemed  to  be 
one  of  the  principal  in  the  Cemetery,  and  observing  with 
attention  the  variety  of  monuments  on  either  side,  the  Gover¬ 
nor  gave  very  little  heed  to  other  particulars  of  his  way,  and 
equally  little  to  the  end  thereof  (possibly  a  bad  habit  of  his, 
elsewhere  than  at  the  burial-ground  at  Munich).  When  he 
looked  up,  far  down  the  street,  a  building  of  some  size  showed 
still  a  hundred  or  two  of  yards  in  advance.  A  building  rather 
low,  and  covering  some  extent  of  ground,  with  windows  of 
much  more  than  the  average  size  for  an  erection  of  the  same 
dimensions.  Ah— once  more  he  remarked  to  himself — this 
must  be  a  chapel,  where,  as  in  many  other  cemeteries,  service 
can  be  held  over  the  dead  who  have  not  before  had  their 
obsequies  celebrated  in  any  church.  No  vehicles  seemed  to 
be  standing  in  the  neighborhood,  so  that  there  was  not  likely  to 
be  any  service  in  progress ;  though  soon  after  observing  the 
building,  and  sauntering  towards  it  at  the  rate  of  half  a  mile 
the  hour,  he  noticed  that  two  or  three  persons  passed  him  and 
that  at  least  one  of  them  ascended  some  steps  to  a  piazza 


ABOUT  MUNICH. 


167 


and  disappeared.  Then,  still  approaching  at  the  same  rate, 
he  allowed  some  sudden  fit  of  abstraction  to  take  possession 
of  him,  bent  his  eyes  to  the  ground,  and  did  not  raise  them 
again  until  he  had  mechanically  ascended  the  steps  and  stood 
on  the  piazza  (a  broad  one,  along  the  whole  front),  within  two 
feet  of  one  of  the  large  windows. 

Horror  of  the  unexpected  !  Within  two  or  three  feet  of 
that  window,  in  a  chair,  with  the  natural  position  of  one  at 
momentary  rest  there,  but  with  the  livid  hue  of  the  three- 
days’  corpse  upon  his  face,  sat  a  dead  man.  His  glassy  eyes  were 
open,  and  he  seemed  to  be  gazing  at  the  man  without,  quite  as 
much  as  the  man  without  was  gazing  in  upon  him.  The  eye 
moved  away  from  the  ghastly  spectacle,  and  another  met  it,  a 
little  at  the  right,  even  worse.  A  dear  little  girl,  who  might 
have  been  eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  lay  on  a  couch,  half 
covered  with  flowers,  the  little  face  actually  green  with  the 
evidences  of  decay.  And  near  her  an  old  man,  with  white 
hair,  leaning  down  on  a  half-couch,  half-bed,  grinned  in  a 
ghastly  death  that  had  been  half  anticipated  before  his  last 
breath.  Some  flowers  were  around  him,  too,  and  above  him 
hung  down  the  branches  of  a  tree. 

By  this  time  the  horrified  eye  began  to  take  in  better  the 
whole  space  of  the  chamber,  and  the  dead  started  into  view  at 
every  point,  sitting,  lying,  reclining,  in  all  the  horror  of  rotten¬ 
ness,  and  the  terrible  feeling  materially  added  to  by  the  whole 
forest  of  artificial  trees  (so  known  afterward)  that  hung  above 
them,  and  the  perfect  wilderness  of  flowers  (also  artificial) 
from  among  which  their  glassy  eyes  and  decaying  faces  looked 
out.  They  were  here,  there,  everywhere — in  every  condition 
of  decay,  up  to  the  very  culmination  that  has  no  name. 
Every  new  glance  revealed  a  new  one,  and  a  new  horror.  But 
the  acme  was  reached  when,  sweeping  the  eye  some  distance 
to  the  right,  a  young  and  lovely  woman,  wearing  white  robes 
that  might  have  belonged  to  a  bride,  and  crowned  with  a 
wreath  of  flowers  as  a  bride  might  have  been,  grinned  and 
stared  at  the  gazer  with  the  frightfulness  of  all  the  others 
combined.  A  very  mocking  carnival  of  horrors  the  whole 


168 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE 


thing  seemed — the  leaves  and  flowers  the  accessories  to  make 
the  sensation  a  thousand  times  aggravated.  If  Holbein’s 
awful  “  Dance  of  Death”  could  have  had  an  original,  here  was 
something  quite  to  equal  it  at  its  worst:  if  there  was  a  spot 
on  all  the  broad  earth  where  the  very  different  sensations  of 
broken-hearted  pity  and  sickening  disgust  could  come  to¬ 
gether,  here  was  the  spot. 

Strangely,  the  use  of  one  faculty  to  such  an  extent  had 
kept  all  the  others  dormant.  It  was  only  when  some  dreadful 
minutes  had  elapsed,  and  the  gazer,  who  wished  himself  any¬ 
where  else  than  in  the  face  of  that  horror,  and  yet  could  not 
take  away  his  eyes  from  it,  drew  a  breath  before  restrained, — 
that  he  became  aware  of  the  atmosphere  of  death  in  which  he 
stood.  Everything  was  permeated  by  it — an  odor  of  the 
vault,  heavy,  sickening,  unendurable.  Then  some  one  from 
within  came  hurriedly  to  a  door  leading  to  the  piazza, 
threw  it  open  and  so  held  it  for  a  moment  as  he  passed  out. 
God  of  Mercy  !  what  an  effluvia  came  out  with  him.  What  a 
combination  of  all  the  loathsomenesses  to  which  the  daintiest 
flesh  can  turn,  when  the  vital  spark  no  longer  holds  it  sweet 
and  fragrant,  smote  the  senses  from  that  crowded  charnel- 
house  of  perhaps  thirty  bodies  ! 

The  Governor  had  approached  the  Munich  Dead-House 
(such  he  afterward  knew  it  to  be)  very  slowly.  He  left  it 
very  suddenly,  rather  falling  off  than  leaping  from  the  piazza. 
He  paid  no  attention  to  the  expressions  of  affection  on  the 
tombs,  or  the  arrangements  for  watering  the  flowers,  as  he 
made  what  is  called  “  long  legs  ”  up  the  avenue  of  the 
Cemetery.  He  was  choking  with  that  fetid  breath  ;  stifling 
with  that  odor  of  Gehenna.  To  get  clear  of  it,  at  any  cost — 
that  was  the  one  idea  remaining  in  his  dazed  brain.  There 
was  a  fountain  at  near  the  entrance,  bubbling  with  clear,  cool 
water.  He  paid  no  attention  to  law  or  the  proprieties,  but, 
dropping  his  hat  beside  the  fountain,  plunged  his  head  into 
it,  and  gurgled  and  strangled  there  after  the  manner  of  a 
porpoise  in  the  other  element.  Fortunately,  when  an  officer 
came  up  to  arrest  him  for  this  desecration  (and  worse,  though 


ABOUT  MUNICH. 


169 


that  the  officer  did  not  guess)  of  the  drinking-fountain,  he 
did  not  know  enough  of  German  to  understand  one  word,  and 
so  was  dismissed  with  some  official  oaths  as  too  stupid  even 
for  punishment. 

This  was  the  “  pleasant  horror  ”  at  the  Dead-House  of  the 
Munich  Great  Cemetery,  where,  as  he  afterward  learned  at 
the  Hotel  Bellevue,  and  from  books,  every  one  dying  in  the 
city  is  taken,  immediately  after  death,  and  there  placed,  with 
a  bell-handle  fitted  into  the  hand,  so  that  if  any  lingering 
spark  of  life  remains,  any  slightest  motion  of  that  hand  will 
ring  a  bell  within  hearing  of  sleepless  watchers,  so  that  pre¬ 
mature  burial  is  rendered  impossible.  But  where,  in  spite  of 
the  custom,  so  benevolent,  if  so  ghastly  in  its  details,  after¬ 
inquiry  and  research  could  not  discover  that  ever  in  three 
hundred  years  the  bell  had  rung,  indicating  the  wish  of  one 
of  the  supposed  dead  to  come  back  to  the  land  and  the  com¬ 
panionship  of  the  living. 


LINDAU,  CONSTANCE,  AND  THE  RHINE-FALLS. 

The  Governor  left  Munich  with  a  heavy  heart,  in  spite  of  his 
gladness  to  be  away  from  the  Dead-House.  Not  alone  be¬ 
cause  he  was  leaving  behind  one  of  the  greatest  art  centres  of 
the  world,  but  because  the  Artist  had  deserted  him,  to  spend 
a  month  or  two  more  among  the  pictures  and  possibly  to  die 
miserably  in  their  midst.  He  was  not  alone,  however,  in 
leaving :  the  Dominie  was  “  to  the  fore,”  and  also  the  wife 
and  heir  of  that  professor  ;  so  that  loneliness  was  out  of  the 
question.  They  left  Munich  at  10:30,  and  spent  most  of  the 
ensuing  two  hours  crossing  a  flat  and  uninteresting  country, 
studying  the  barber-poled  fences  of  white  and  blue  (the  colors 
of  Bavaria)  literally  everywhere  and  in  all  directions.  At 
12:30,  awakening  from  this  abstruse  study,  they  had  a  glimpse 
of  the  low-banked  and  sluggish  river  Lech,  and  at  1  P.  M., 
picturesque  little  old  Friedburg  was  near  at  the  right,  with  a 
lofty  round-tower  redeeming  the  whole  scene  and  giving  the 
nobility  of  a  city.  Then  more  than  a  trifle  of  moor  and  bog, 
with  the  peat-smoke  from  the  locomotive  obvious  ;  and  a  little 
later  older  and  more  picturesque  Augsburg  came  into  view, 
redolent  with  the  atmosphere  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
with  memories  of  its  important  connection  with  many  of  the 
great  events  moving  the  world  through  centuries. 

The  travellers  lunched  at  Augsburg,  and  that  was  all.  No, 
not  all  ;  for  they  had,  from  the  train  and  station,  a  glimpse  of 
queer  old  Augsburg  Cathedral,  with  a  half-Turkish  tower, 
reminding  one  that  it  was  built  while  the  memory  of  the  Cru¬ 
sades  was  heavy  on  the  earth.  And  if  they  did  not  enter  the 
old  town,  they  mused  (some  of  them  at  least)  over  the 
strange  history  of  the  old  Roman  Augusta  Vindelicorum  ;  long 
a  free  imperial  city  ;  the  spot  from  which  went  forth  the  cele¬ 
brated  “  Augsburg  Confession,”  even  to-day  repeated  round 
the  world  ;  and  the  place  from  which  three  daughters  of 


CONSTANCE  AND  RHINE  FALLS. 


171 


commoners  also  went  forth  to  princely  beds  :  Clara  von  Det- 
ten  to  that  of  the  Elector  Frederick  the  Victorious  ;  Agnes 
Bernauer  to  that  of  Duke  Albert  III.  of  Bavaria;  and  Phillip- 
pina  Welser  to  that  of  Archduke  Ferdinand  of  Austria.  Also, 
where  the  “  Rothschilds  of  the  Middle  Ages,”  the  Fuggers, 
had  their  origin,  to  fill  the  empty  coffers  of  princes  and  thus 
privately  manage  half  the  affairs  of  Europe. 

Ah,  well — they  steamed  away  from  Augsburg,  with  more  of 
those  universal  intentions  to  return  and  explore  the  old  city. 
And  then  the  Governor  fell  into  tribulation.  For  in  the  same 
carriage  were  turee,  temporarily  set  to  guard  his  fate  and 
likewise  to  embitter  it.  The  first  was  the  Ecclesiastic,  and  the 
others  were  his  Appendages.  Ecclesiastic  sternly  pointed  to 
the  legand  “  Nicht  Raucher”  on  the  side  of  the  carriage,  and 
forbade  the  Gubernatorial  lighting  of  a  cigar,  under  penalty 
of  “calling  the  guard.”  This,  in  Bavaria,  where  the  very 
chickens  smoke  and  the  sheep  are  inveterate  old  puffers  ! 
However,  all  this  was  borne,  with  the  objurgations  silent  if 
deep  ;  and  they  rolled  on,  by  Bissenhoften  and  Oberdorff,  at 
the  latter  commencing  to  catch  fine  views  of  the  nearing 
mountains,  ahead  and  at  the  left. 

[It  must  have  been  at  Oberdorff,  or  thereabouts,  that  the 
Governor,  having  the  spirit  of  research  strong  upon  him, 
made  Ihe  special  acquaintance  of  a  son  who  was  an  idiot  and 
a  mother  who  was  a  fool.  There  were  a  considerable  number 
of  stoppages ;  and  at  every  one  of  them  the  I.  and  the  F., 
who  were  in  separate  carriages,  stuck  their  heads  from  the 
windows  and  held  loud  and  loving  conversations  with  each 
other,  from  which  one  might  have  deduced  that  the  separation 
was  murdering  them  by  inches.  Then,  at  Oberdorff — we  will  say 
Oberdorff,  as  near  enough — the  I.  alighted  from  his  compart¬ 
ment,  and  went  up  to  that  occupied  by  the  F.,  and  they  then 
and  thereupon  hugged  and  kissed  in  the  public  view,  in  the 
style  of  people  separated  for  a  twelvemonth.  Then  the  I.,  who 
bought  something  to  eat  and  something  to  drink  at  every  stop¬ 
page,  fed  the  F.  with  a  little  of  his  cake,  after  the  manner  of  a 
bird;  and  then  they  hugged  and  kissed  again  ;  and  then  the 


172 


OVER  II. A  LF-E  UR  OPE. 


whistle  blew  and  the  comedy  was  suspended,  to  be  recom¬ 
menced  at  the  first  opportunity.  Did  any  one  laugh  ?  Who 
knows — seeing  that  the  laughter  must  be  in  German  ?  But 
the  same  question  need  not  be  asked,  as  to  the  single  and 
mild  detail  of  disgust,  and  the  other  and  milder  detail  of  a 
desire  to  choke  the  two  fools  of  different  calibres,  with  one 
of  their  own  indecent  embraces.] 

All  this  was  forgotten  bye-and-bye,  however,  even  if  the 
scene  was  really  Oberdorff.  For  at  the  left,  as  they  rolled 
on,  came  up  the  very  finest  of  the  Bavarian  Highlands,  rough, 
picturesque  and  attractive,  and  Grunten,  called  the  “  Rhigi  of 
Bavaria, ’’  and  a  summer  resort  of  eminence.  Then  came  Im- 
menstadt,  a  picturesque  old  town,  lying  under  the  very  brow 
of  the  mountains,  and  with  magnificent  view's  that  would  not 
have  shamed  the  Bernese  Oberland  ;  and  then,  just  before 
sunset,  the  beautiful  little  Immensee,  at  the  left — verily, 
scarcely  more  than  a  bowl,  but  with  all  the  inherent  dignity 
and  all  the  surroundings  of  one  of  the  great  mountain  lakes. 
Here  it  was  that  the  Dominie  unbent  from  the  seventy  of  his 
reverie,  which  had  lasted  most  of  the  way  from  Munich,  and 
observed,  with  the  painful  suspicion  of  a  smile  on  his  broad 
brow,  “  Humph  !  ha  !  oh  !  They  call  that  the  Immensee,  do 
they  ?  Humph  !  well,  to  me  it  does  not  look  very  much  like 
an  immense  sea  ;  rather  like  a  very  small  one.” 

The  records  of  Bavaria  have  not  been  examined  as  to.  the 
above  mild  venture  being  copyright.  Enough  that  there  was 
no  arrest ;  that  they  rolled  on  with  a  glorious  sunset  among 
the  hills,  by  Oberstaufen  ;  as  the  dusk  fell,  at  Hergatz  ;  and  not 
long  after  the  chiming  of  nine  from  some  one  of  the  old  towers, 
at  Lindau,  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  with  the  new  moon  shin¬ 
ing  sweetly  on  the  dark  waters  of  the  “  Bodensee,”  a  steam¬ 
boat  just  coming  in  from  Constance,  and  the  whole  little  har¬ 
bor  alive  with  boats,  lights  and  music,  as  was  only  fitting  and 
proper  for  a  place  so  often  named  the  “  Venice  of  Germany.” 
(Parenthetically,  the  supper,  in  a  large  dining-hall  over  look 
ing  the  lake,  might  have  been  more  quiet  if  less  appetizing, 
had  not  the  Ecclesiastic,  tired  of  battling  only  the  Governor, 


CONSTANCE  AND  JUIINE-FALLS. 


173 


concluded  to  assault  the  whole  German  nation,  and  set  up  his 
banner  of  “  Nicht  Raucher  ”  in  the  supper  room  where  every¬ 
body  smoked  between  their  bits  of  steak  and  sups  of  tea.  He 
had  “a  good  time  of  it  ”  before  the  conclusion,  and  was  finally 
sent  up  to  a  dining  room  of  his  own  somewhere  near  the  roof, 
all  the  while  protesting  and  demanding  “  Nicht  Raucher”  for 
the  entire  establishment.  So,  exit  the  Ecclesiastic,  though 
not  in  smoke.  Wiih  him,  too,  oddly  enough,  exit  the  Dominie, 
whose  companionship  with  the  Governor  went  no  farther  than 
that  night;  let  us  say,  to  the  grief  and  bereavement  of  all  in¬ 
volved.) 

It  was  a  magnificent  summer  morning — that  following  the 
arrival  at  Lindau  ;  and  the  Governor,  however  once  more  lone¬ 
ly,  managed  to  enjoy  it  to  the  full.  The  little  harbor,  seen  by 
daylight,  had  many  charms  hidden  by  the  night.  Two  very 
long  piers  stretching  out  into  the  Lake,  formed  it,  one  crowned 
with  a  lighthouse,  and  the  other  with  the  lion  of  Bavaria. 
Through  the  narrow  passage  between  them,  boats  were  com¬ 
ing  and  going  continually — a  cross  between  the  Rhine  boats 
and  those  afterwards  known  as  the  Italian  and  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean.  All  the  centuries  seemed  rolled  back,  in  the  archi¬ 
tecture  of  the  narrow  streets;  and  one  very  old  building 
especially,  with  a  six-sided  central  sharp  tower  surrounded  by 
four  other  sharp  towers,  also  six-sided,  lower,  and  forming 
hanging  turrets  around  it,  lingers  in  memory  as  the  most 
graceful  relic  of  the  old  times  in  all  Southern  Germany. 
Everybody  took  off  their  hats,  during  this  stroll,  with  a  polite¬ 
ness  evidencing  the  South  ;  everybody  walked  in  the  middle 
of  the  streets — by  far  the  smoothest  line  of  progress,  in  many 
instances;  and  the  dogs  were  numerous  and  a  trifle  noisy  but 
by  no  means  troublesome.  Such,  with  very  many  old  houses, 
and  not  a  few  markedly  picturesque,  was  Lindau — with  an 
enviable  view,  all  the  while,  southward  over  this  largest  and 
bluest  of  the  Central  European  lakes,  at  two  ranges  of  noble 
mountains :  to  the  left  those  of  the  Tyrol,  and  to  the  right 
the  Swiss  Alps  of  Appenzel,  some  of  the  latter  still  covered 
with  snow,  and  the  whole  background  of  the  Bodensee  as 
beautiful  as  the  most  active  'magination  could  have  made  it. 


174 


O  VEll  HALF  E  UROPE. 


The  Governor  left  Lindau  that  morning,  on  the  steamer  Dis- 
cordia,  for  Constance — wearing  an  overcoat  for  the  first  time 
in  many  days  ;  indeed  for  the  first  time  since  disembarking 
on  the  Rhine.  A  wonderful  lake,  this  of  Constance,  with  its 
shores  jointly  owned  by  Baden,  Bavaria,  Wurtemburg,  Switzer¬ 
land,  and_  the  Austrian  Tyrol  ;  and  a  wonderful  sail  over  it, 
that  of  this  perfect  day.  Plenty  of  boats  and  not  a  few  of 
steamers,  some  with  the  horizontal  black  and  red  flag  of  Wur¬ 
temburg,  and  others  with  the  horizontal  red  and  yellow  of 
Baden.  A  pretty  little  port  showed  at  Fredericshafen,  and 
near  it  a  neat  modern  palace,  with  tower,  of  the  King  of  Wur¬ 
temburg.  A  big  ferryboat,  the  very  pattern  of  one  of  the 
American  Brooklyn  or  Jersey  City  boats  of  that  class,  was 
crossing  from  Fredericshafen  to  Remanshorn,  bearing  passen¬ 
gers  for  the  Swiss  tour  ;  but  the  Governor’s  boat  was  for  Con¬ 
stance,  and  rounding  to  the  right  of  the  small  island  of  Meinan, 
bearing  a  large  palace  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden,  it  set  him 
ashore  as  per  schedule,  the  mountains  coming  nearer  and 
nearer,  and,  their  glorious  beauty  new-flooding  his  soul  in  quite 
a  corresponding  degree. 

So  many  years  ago  as  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1S67,  the  trav¬ 
eller  had  experienced  a  thrill  of  romance  at  Geneva,  standing 
above  the  tomb  proudly  announced  as  that  of  “Cardinal  Jean 
de  Brognier,  President  of  the  Council  of  Constance  and  his 
first  visit  in  this  oldest  of  old  towns  was  to  the  scene  of  that 
memorable  religio-historical  episode  in  the  career  of  several 
nations.  Known  in  French  as  the  “  Maison  du  Conseil,”  and 
in  German  as  the  “  Consileum  Saal,”  gravely  stands  this  odd, 
fine  old  building,  in  which  that  Council  held  its  sessions  from 
1414  to  1418,  deposing  popes,  threatening  kings,  and  burning 
John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  besides  doing  many  other 
acts  and  things  too  tedious  to  mention.  It  is  of  stone  and  wood, 
evidently  much  older  than  that  Council  ;  has  a  sharp  “  bat¬ 
tered  ”  barrack  roof  with  weathercock  shafts  at  the  ends  of 
the  peak  and  no  less  than  three  rows  of  dormer  windows  ; 
while  the  eaves  have  nearly  the  depth  of  those  of  the  Swiss 
chalets,  and  windows  all  around  immediately  beneath  the 


CONSTANCE  AND  BHTNE-FALLS. 


175 


roof.  The  upper  is  not  much  more  than  a  half  story  ;  though 
the  great  Council  Chamber  is  there  located,  the  great  bulk  of 
the  building  is  below.  At  one  end,  a  penthouse  hangs  away 
from  the  roof,  forming  a  sort  of  portico — this  also  crowned 
with  a  staff  and  weathercock.  Taken  all  in  all,  and  from  with¬ 
out,  certainly  this  is  the  oddest  old  barn  in  which  events 
of  importance  ever  had  their  origin  ;  and  yet  who  would 
change  one  stone  or  one  board  of  it  ? 

Within,  the  hall  of  the  Council  Mouse  is  found  to  be  very 
long,  with  heavy  wooden  crossbeams  and  posts,  bearing 
arms  at  the  junctions — all  now  lately  painted  and  varnished. 
At  the  ends  are  pictures  of  Pope  Martin  V.  and  John  Huss  ; 
and  there  are  many  modern  paintings,  some  of  them  very  good 
though  none  notable,  and  none  capable  of  for  one  moment 
withdrawing  the  attention  from  the  memorable  occupation  of 
1414-1418.  In  small  rooms,  above  this,  are  effigies  of  John 
Muss,  Jerome  of  Prague,  and  the  Dominican  who  “con¬ 
futed  ”  Huss.  Here,  also,  are  the  throne,  with  faded  canopy 
and  tapestry,  where  sat  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  whose  safe- 
conduct  could  not  §ave  Huss — and  the  two  chairs  of  Pope 
Martin  and  the  President;  the  outer  door  of  Huss’ prison, 
very  old,  and  of  wood  ;  the  horse-trappings  of  Charles  the 
Bold  of  Burgundy,  worn  on  the  fatal  day  of  Nancy ;  two  very 
old  long  hide-shields  ;  a  water-bottle  from  Jerusalem  ;  the  first 
Bible  printed  at  Augsburg,  1480;  the  Bible  used  at  the  Coun¬ 
cil  ;  a  Roman  sword,  of  wonderful  breadth  and  weight,  with 
eagle  hilt  and  head,  &c.  This  whole  collection  ®has  great 
interest  as  well  as  undoubted  authenticity,  and  might  found 
half  a  dozen  of  modern  museums.  To  crown  the  interest  of 
the  place,  out  of  the  window  may  be  seen,  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake,  the  building  that  was  Huss’  prison.  (It  was  too  hot  at 
the  moment  to  visit  it ;  and  the  Governor’s  pocket  was  at  the 
same  moment  too  light  to  buy  the  medallion  made  of  clay 
from  the  place  of  his  burning.) 

In  an  orchard,  a  mile  from  the  town,  is  the  spot  where  both 
Huss  and  Jerome  were  burned,  alike  to  the  shame  of  the 
German  Empire  and  the  Council  of  Constance.  On  it,  at 


17G 


O  VER  HALF  E  UR  OPE. 


this  time,  lies  an  immense  stone,  or  boulder,  said  to  have 
come  from  the  lake,  though  that  seems  doubtful.  On  one 
side  of  it,  in  a  levelled  space,  is  cut,  “  Hieronymus  von  Prag, 
30  May— 7  Juni,  1416;”  and  on  the  other,  in  a  space  similarly 
levelled,  “  Johannes  Hus  f  O  14  July,  1415.” 

The  ride  to  the  place  of  death  of  Huss  and  Jerome  had 
additionally  other  and  more  pleasant  results,  though  not 
more  profitable.  For  it  was  continued  far  some  miles  away 
toward  the  Swiss  border,  where,  in  the  very  old  Church  of 
the  Holy  Cross,  at  Greuzlingen,  is  to  be  found  the  most  won¬ 
derful  and  bewildering  collection  of  figures  in  bronze,  on 
earth — about  one  foot  in  height,  and  of  rare  merit  as  sculp¬ 
tures,  illustrating  the  whole  life  of  Christ,  from  the  manger  to 
the  cross.  They  must  be  thousands  in  number,  arranged  in 
the  scenes  and  acts  of  the  Divine  career  ;  and  the  story  is 
easily  believed,  that  they  employed  the  whole  life  and  ab¬ 
sorbed  the  whole  fortune  of  a  man  of  large  wealth  and  unde¬ 
niable  talent.  And  the  ride  did  not  stop  even  here  ;  for  the 
Governor  and  his  kind  chaperons  went  past  the  man  on 
guard,  and  over  the  boundary,  into  the  Swiss  canton  Thurgau, 
and  away  up  the  hills,  for  a  glass  of  wine  and  a  biscuit  at  a 
Swiss  chalet,  and  for  some  magnificent  views  of  the  Alps  of 
Appenzel,  and  of  the  Centis,  their  king  and  pride,  lying  dark 
and  frowning  even  under  the  sun  of  hot  midsummer. 

But  there  was  more  of  the  mediaeval  and  the  religious  in 
Constance  than  the  Council  House — much  more  ;  as  lovers  and 
students  of  religious  houses  need  not  be  told.  Where  else, 
on  all  the  broad  earth,  shall  the  parallel  be  found  of  Constance 
Cathedral,  in  more  than  one  regard  ?  Architecturally,  there 
are  several  finer.  The  spire  is  equally  grand  and  elaborate ; 
but  the  effect  is  materially  injured  by  the  great  height  of  the 
square-towered  front  from  which  it  rises  ;  nor  can  it  be  said 
to  be  impressive  as  a  whole,  without.  But  (as  may  have  been 
already  said  elsewhere) — what  would  you  ?  This  old  pile  dates 
from  the  second  century,  giving  odds  to  the  Tower  of  London 
of  more  than  eight  hundred  years  ! — and  it  was  the  seat  of  an 
archiepiscopal  see  from  A.  D.  507  to  1800.  It  is  very  large, 


CONSTANCE  AND  RH1N E-FALLS. 


177 


old,  and  cold-looking.  Perhaps  its  most  notable  feature  is  a 
circular  shrine,  of  date  A.  D.  1000,  copied  from  that  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  ;  and  there  is  a  vaulted  passage, 
alleged  to  be  of  nearly  the  same  date,  once  leading  from  the 
interior  all  the  way  to  the  Rhine,  With  these,  and  its  age, 
the  interest  ceases ;  but  oh,  how  it  commences  again  on  the 
opening  of  certain  doors  (with  a  key  of  silver)  !  For,  outside 
of  Rome,  no  religious  house  in  the  world  can  compare  with 
this  Cathedral  of  Constance,  in  the  multitude,  splendor,  un¬ 
told  cost  and  magnificence  of  the  gold  and  silver  altar-ser¬ 
vices,  furniture,  vestments,  and  all  that  belongs  to  what  may 
be  called  the  very  luxury  of  worship.  Brought  out  and  named, 
with  the  donors,  one  by  one,  and  each  more  rare  than  the 
others  in  costly  metals  and  precious  stones,  the  eyes  of  the 
Governor  (those  mild  orbs  !)  for  once  grew  covetcus,  and  it 
would  not  have  been  well  for  him  to  be  left  alone  with  those 
richest  belongings  of  any  mere  church  on  earth.  It  would 
not  have  been  well  for  him  to  be  so  left,  and  he  was  not : 
very  much  to  the  contrary,  he  was  evidently  watched  through¬ 
out  the  whole  exhibition,  which  is  by  no  means  ordinarily 
made  or  made  without  strong  inducement. 

En passant,  there  is  a  large  cannon  ball  in  the  Cathedral, 
shot  into  the  town  by  Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden,  when 
besieging  it  in  the  Thirty  Years’  War  ;  and  just  south  of  the 
town  a  cairn  of  stones  shows  where  the  battle  was  fo  ught, 
leaving  that  heavy  and  significant  relic.  And  in  the  same 
connection,  that  of  antiquities,  the  old  Stadt  Haus  has  a  row 
of  fine  frescoes,  all  along  the  double  crow-stepped  front, 
alleged  to  be  from  the  pencil  of  Albert  Durer,  and  literally 
telling  the  whole  history  of  Constance  in  shapes  and  colors. 
The  number  of  old  houses,  and  of  inscriptions  on  them,  are 
both  legion,  blending  the  habits  of  both  the  Swiss  and  the 
Germans,  between  whom  the  town  literally  lies,  seeming  to 
belong  to  both  or  neither. 

Another  splendid  summer  morning,  and  the  Governor  was 
away,  up  the  Rhine,  by  the  steamer  Neptun  for  Schaff.iausen 
and  the  Rhine  Falls.  As  he  left,  the  bells  of  the  old  town 


178 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE., 


seemed  all  to  be  pealing,  calling  every  one  to  a  new  Council, 
that  should  all  the  while  be  from  four  to  five  hundred  years 
old.  More  “  Rhine,”  but  how  different  from  that  already 
noted  !  A  rapid  and  rushing  stream,  but  lacking  the  breadth 
of  the  true  German  Rhine  so  many  leagues  below.  An  hour 
from  Constance,  and  on  some  low,  rough  side  hills,  but  with 
handsome  grounds  surrounding  them,  gleamed  out  the  yellow 
range  of  pitched-roofed  houses  forming  the  Chateau  of 
Arenenberg,  where  Queen  Hortense  lived  for  many  years,  and 
where  her  boy  son  Louis  Napoleon,  perhaps  even  then  with 
dreams  of  being  Napoleon  III.,  lived  with  her.  It  lies  on 
Swiss  ground,  and  so  has  been  free  from  foreign  intervention, 
at  all  times  and  for  any  member  of  that  remarkable  family. 
To-day,  except  with  an  occasional  and  hasty  visit  from  the 
ex-Empress  Eugenie,  it  is  idle,  like  those  who  own  it. 

The  banks  of  the  river  had  deepened  perceptibly,  while 
some  of  these  reflections  went  on  ;  and  directly  the  good 
steamer  Ncptun  was  at  Schaffhausen,  a  very  old  Swiss  town 
that  might  have  been  of  interest  but  for  what  la}'  beyond.  A 
’bus  went  rattling  through  the  old  town  and  away  from  it, 
close  along  the  river  bank  to  Newhausen,  and  the  Schweizer- 
hof,  which  noble  hotel  stands  on  a  high  bank  overlooking  the 
Falls,  and  adds  immeasurably,  both  in  location  and  the  unex¬ 
ceptionable  manner  of  its  keeping,  to  the  pleasure  of  visiting 
the  Chute  du  Rhiu. 

Perhaps,  to  Americans,  the  Falls  of  the  Rhine  are  the  most 
easily  described  of  all  European  falls,  as  they  are  certainly  the 
noblest.  Reduce  Niagara  very  materially,  and  wi*th  certain 
differences,  the  Rhine  Falls  will  be  the  result.  They  are  about 
150  feet  wide,  with  a  pitch  of  70  feet,  and  a  high  shrub-grown 
rock  dividing  them  nearly  in  the  middle  (after  the  manner  of 
Goat  Island  at  Niagara),  and  another  jutting  out  at  the  left 
(face  view).  They  form  rather  a  deep  rapid  than  a  cascade, 
the  edge  being  very  rough  and  irregular,  and  nearly  the  whole 
sheet  of  water  broken  and  white,  like  that  of  Giessbach.  There 
is  a  handsome  stone  bridge  of  nine  arches,  an  hundred  feet 
above ;  below  the  Falls  and  around  them  the  banks  of  the 


CONSTANCE  AND  RHINE- FALLS. 


179 


Rhine  are  rather  broken  and  tree-grown  than  precipitous  and 
Niagara-ish.  From  the  restaurant  below,  the  fall  seems  much 
nobler  and  more  complete  as  a  cascade;  and  from  that  point 
the  middle  rock  is  seen  to  be  double,  with  the  left  part  of  it 
clear  of  the  bank.  The  spray  and  thunder  are  reductions  of 
both  at  Niagara,  and  much  greater  than  either  at  Trenton 
Falls.  The  largest  middle  rock  (Goat  Island  in  little)  has  a 
temple  on  it,  canopied  ;  and  there  is  a  spot  there,  to  which  the 
adventurous  (some  call  them  fools)  are  rowed  off  and  climb. 
Below  the  Falls  is  a  ferry  by  small  boats  (again  like  Niagara); 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Rhine,  to  make  a  background 
in  the  view,  the  old  Chateau  of  Woerth  rises,  with  a  church 
and  many  clustered  buildings  near  it  and  lying  as  if  under  its 
protection. 

This  of  the  Rhine  Falls,  certainly  one  of  the  finest  in  all 
Europe,  and  in  many  regards  the  very  finest.  But  something 
more  remains,  and  of  great  interest.  Thanks  to  the  enter¬ 
prise  of  host  Wegenstein,  of  the  Schweizerhof,  in  the  grounds 
of  that  hotel  there  is  a  sort  of  dial  by  which  the  visitor  can 
accurately  discover  the  direction  and  make  out  the  identity  of 
nearly  every  mountain  in  Switzerland,  including  the  giants  of 
the  Bernese  Oberland,  and  Mont  Blanc  himself,  the  latter 
nearly  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  distant,  but  all  lying 
plainly  in  distant  view,  in  long  irregular  lines  of  snow-white 
on  the  horizon.  •  Think  of  this  panorama  of  the  great  Swiss 
mountain  ranges,  to  be  enjoyed  comfortably  in  the  grounds  of 
a  well  kept  hotel  ;  and  then,  while  blessing  the  enterprise  of 
the  hotel  proprietor  who  could  bring  a  professor  from  a  scien 
tific  institution  to  arrange  it,  think  what  was  the  enjoyment  of 
the  Governor,  well  fed,  not  yet  bankrupt,  gloriously  alone, 
resting  himself  after  Munich  and  Constance,  and  leisurely 
scanning  the  whole  range  of  the  Alps  through  the  Dleasant 
smoke-wreath  of  his  inevitable  cigar. 


13 


I. 

AN  ALPINE  DRIFT,  WITHOUT  SNOW. 

The  word  “drift”  is  used  advisedly,  though  such  a  mode  of 
crossing  the  Alps  as  “drifting”  may  not  have  been  common 
since  the  Deluge,  at  which  time  a  considerable  number  of 
persons  probably  went  over  the  peaks  in  that  manner.  And 
yet  the  Governor  as  truly  drifted  across  the  Splugen  Pass,  as 
ever  dismasted  hulk  went  at  the  mercy  of  winds  and  waves 
or  a  stray  log  floated  away  wTith  the  tide.  By  the  phrase,  it  is 
merely  meant  to  express  the  fact  that  he  did  not  go  where  he 
intended  to  go,  that  he  went  where  he  did  not  arrange  to  go, 
and  yet,  without  positive  volition  of  his  own,  in  the  end  found 
the  goal  of  his  wishes,  if  not  his  first  arrangement.  There 
may  be  a  shade  of  amusement  in  some  of  the  circumstances, 
which  are  not  manufactured  for  the  occasion,  but  are  in  all 
essentials  the  exact  truth,  however  painful  a  one. 

The  Governor  went  into  the  old  city  of  Zurich,  in  the  north¬ 
east  of  Switzerland,  one  day  in  the  middle  of  July,  from  the 
Falls  of  the  Rhine,  and  Constance,  and  on  his  way  to  Basle, 
where  he  had  letters  of  importance  awaiting  him.  From  a 
succession  of  peculiar  circumstances  he  had  been  “  drifting” 
about  Central  Europe,  without  anything  having  occurred 
worth  the  trouble  of  a  recital.  So  far  as  he  knew,  the  drifting 
was  over.  So  far  as  he  knew — yes,  and  no  farther. 

It  was  an  understood  fact  that  he  was  only  going  to  remain 
in  Zurich  for  an  hour  or  two — going  on  at  once  to  Basle,  the 
desire  to  reach  which  place,  after  so  many  hindrances,  had 
now  grown  upon  him  to  something  like  a  man’s  hunger  for  a 
belated  dinner.  So  at  least  he  believed,  as,  oddly  enough,  on 
arrival  at  the  station  he  drifted  away  from  the  friends  who 
had  brought  him  there,  and  found  his  way,  light  luggage 
in  hand,  into  the  Hotel  Bellevue,  on  the  edge  of  the  famed 
and  beautiful  lake, 

It  was  about  twelve  o’clock,  when  he  entered  the  hotel  with 
that  “  fixed  determination  ”  already  recorded.  “  Have  me 


AN  ALPINE  DRIFT. 


181 


some  dinner  ready  at  two,  please  ;  and  in  the  meantime  I  will 
look  around  the  town  a  little,  and  see  the  Lake  ;  as  I  am  going 
on  to  Basle  by  the  three  o’clock  train,”  he  said  to  the  good 
looking  man  who  received  him,  and  who,  as  afterward  discov¬ 
ered,  was  the  proprietor.  He  looked  sharply  at  the  valise  ; 
the  Governor  thought  for  the  moment  that  he  was  measuring 
it  to  see  whether  it  was  likely  to  pay  for  a  good  dinner  ;  but 
it  was  afterward  suspected  that  he  in  some  way  recognized 
the  name  on  it,  and  so  marked  the  bearer  as  an  easy  victim. 
Then  he  said,  adopting  the  very  formula  that  had  several  times 
before  rendered  the  victim  helpless  :  “  No  !  you  are  not  going 
to  Basle  at  three  o’clock  :  you  are  going  riding  with  me,  and 
then  you  can  go  on  to  Basle  to-morrow  morning,  if  you  must.” 

The  Governor  felt  another  drift  coming  over  him  like  a 
dumb  ague.  “Oh,  very  well,”  he  said,  “  if  you  have  arranged 
things  in  that  manner,  what  am  I  to  contradict  you  ?”  So  he 
did  not  go  by  the  three  o’clock  train  ;  and  they  went  riding 
around  beautiful  and  wealthy  Zurich,  with  its  charming  lake 
(“  fair  Zurich’s  waters  ”  of  the  poets),  its  splendid  views  of  the 
great  snow  peaks,  and  of  the  wide  baitle  field,  under  the  walls 
of  the  city,  where  Massena  defeated  the  Russians  and  Aus¬ 
trians  and  drove  them  out.  of  Switzerland.  Then  they  came 
back,  and  the  Governor  ordered  an  early  supper,  so  as  to  re¬ 
tire  early  and  be  ready  for  the  seven  o’clock  train  in  the  morn¬ 
ing.  The  seven  o’clock  train  to  Basle  :  how  he  had  got  to 
longing  for  Basle,  that  he  had  so  hated  on  his  last  visit,  be¬ 
cause  it  had  a  bridge  with  one  end  of  stone  and  the  other  of 
wood,  and  a  cathedral  in  which  ugliness  had  been  made  a 
science. 

He  was  just  concluding  his  supper,  with  a  view  to  that 
early  couch,  when  two  Americans,  a  gentlemen  and  his  wife, 
came  to  the  table.  Some  inquiries  as  to  the  past  routes  and 
future  intentions  were  made  on  both  sides,  and  answered  on 
both.  “  Going  to  bed,  so  early  !  ”  exclaimed  both  in  a  breath. 
“Certainly  not — the  thing  is  impossible!  You  are  going  with 
us  to  the  Grand  Concert  at  the  Ton  Halle,  and  then  to  bed 
when  you  happen  to  get  there.”  “Oh,  very  well,”  the  Gov- 


182 


O  VER  HALF  E UROPE. 


ernor  said,  shivering  pleasantly  under  the  compelling  force  of 
one  more  “  drift,”  “  if  that  is  the  case,  I  am  so  glad  you  have 
told  me  !  If  I  am  going  to  the  Concert,  of  course  to  the  Con¬ 
cert  I  go.”  Then  they  went  to  the  Concert,  and  a  glorious 
one  it  was,  with  the  music  of  Mendelssohn  and  Beethoven 
wonderfully  interpreted,  at  the  hands  of  those  perfect  German 
artists  But  of  course  it  was  midnight  before  they  separated  ; 
and,  equally  of  course,  forgotten  by  the  porter  who  was  to 
rouse  him,  the  Governor  woke  at  eight,  for  the  seven  o’clock 
train,  instead  of  six,  as  intended  ;  while  his  tempters,  who  had 
no  occasion  to  wake  early,  were  no  doubt  sleeping  the  sleep 
of  the  virtuou?  and  hearing  Mendelssohn  in  their  dreams. 
However,  if  there  was  no  seven  o'clock  train  remaining,  there 
was  one  at  nine  ;  and  to  reach  that  he  hurriedly  swallowed  his 
breakfast ;  for  to  Basle  he  must  get  now,  and  to  his  letters. 

Twenty  minutes  to  nine  ;  and  he  had  his  valise  in  hand, 
going  to  the  omnibus,  for  the  train — and  Basle.  In  the  door¬ 
way  he  met  a  stoutish  English-looking  man  of  little  less  than 
his  own  indefinite  age,  with  a  leather  satchel  in  his  hand,  lie 
did  not  look  like  the  mythological  idea  of  a  Fate :  rather  like 
a  well-to-do  and  companionable  specimen  of  the  middle-aged 
John  Bull,  that  he  was.  But  he  was  the  Governor’s  Fate, 
especially  sent  to  start  him  on  the  most  important  “drift  ”  of 
all.  “  Going  to  Basle  ?”  he  asked,  with  a  sort  of  impression  that 
everybody  must  have  letters  at  that  place  and  be  going  after 
them.  “To  Basle?  Oh.no!”  Taurus  answered,  without 
rebuffing  (wonder  for  an  Englishman  !)  the  unintroduced  and 
very  Yankee  address.  “  No,”  he  continued,  “  I  am  going  on 
to  Coire,  and  supposed  that  you  were  going  there  too.” 

To  Coire  !— good  gracious  ! — the  Governor  shuddered  at  the 
name,  with  a  dreadful  suspicion.  “To  Coire  !  Pray  for  what? 
Not  to  go  to  Italy,  I  hope  !  ” — “  Yes,”  he  answered,  with  a  calm¬ 
ness  which  proved  that  he  did  not  know  the  precipice  on  which 
he  was  standing — “my  son  and  I  are  going  to  Coire  this 
morning,  and  then  over  the  Splugen  Pass,  to  Milan.”  “But, 
good  gracious,”  the  other  said,  “do  you  know  what  you  are 
doing?  Italy  is  an  oven,  just  now,  where  they  bake  their 
bread  on  the  sidewalks  and  boil  their  fish  in  the  rivers;  and 


AN  ALPINE  DRIFT. 


183 


then  it  is  a  perfect  pest-house  of  disease,  so  that  going  will  be 
just  equivalent  to  committing  suicide.”  “  Sorry  to  hear  you  say 
so,  because  we  are  going,  you  know,”  was  his  undaunted 
reply. 

And  then  he  added,  fixing  the  Governor  with  his  blue  eye, 
after  the  manner  of  that  wedding  guest  before  often  mentioned, 
who  button-holed  Coleridge’s  Ancient  Mariner  —  “  And  do 
\ou  know,  I  have  an  idea,  from  something  in  your  face,  that 
you  are  going  to  Coire  with  us,  even  if  you  do  not  go  any 
farther.”  “  Well,”  the  victim  said,  feeling  his  moral  limbs 
giving  way  under  him, — “well,  if  you  think  so,  I  suppose  that 
it  must  be  so,  and  that  I  had  made  a  mistake  in  starting.” 
“  En  voiture ,  messieurs,  pour  le  tram  pour  Coire!”  at  that  mo¬ 
ment  rang  out  the  summons  of  the  omnibus  conductor ;  and 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  with  Taurus  and  his  boy  of  sixteen, 
whom  we  will  call  the  Junior,  the  Governor  was  on  board 
the  train,  running  out  of  Zurich  in  exactly  the  opposite 
direction  from  Basle  and  his  letters — but  for  Coire  only, 
remember;  only  for  Coire. 

As  he  was  only  going  to  Coire,  and  not  across  the  Alps  to 
Italy,  he  naturally  felt  under  all  the  more  obligation  to 
observe  and  enjoy  the  glories  of  those  few  hours  elapsing 
between  Zurich  and  his  destination.  And  glories  there  were, 
certainly ;  for  if  not  going  into  the  heart  of  the  great  range, 
he  was  certainly  entering  the  edge  of  that  mighty  succession 
and  group  of  mountains,  granite-ribbed  and  snow-crowned, 
which  fill  the  Canton  Schwytz,  all  the  way  from  the  Lake  of 
Lucerne  to  Zurich,  dropping  enough  over  the  edge,  into  the 
Canton  Glarus,  to  make  boasting-material  for  an  ordinary 
country.  And  they  had  never  before  looked  so  gloriously 
grand,  repelling  and  yet  inviting,  as  that  day  of  blended  storm 
and  sunshine,  when  the  dun  clouds  would  roll  down  the  sides 
of  the  giants  skirting  the  winding  railway,  hiding  all  view  for 
a  few  minutes,  then  lifting  and  rolling  off,  in  the  struggling 
sunlight,  until  one  peak  after  another  would  leap  out  into 
view,  each  seeming  more  bold,  more  craggy,  more  desolate, 
and  yet  more  compellingly  attractive  to  the  eye  than  any  that 
had  preceded  it. 


O  VER  HALF-EUROPE. 


184 

Occasionally,  as  they  wound  in  and  out  among  the  curving 
ranges,  the  thought  that  Italy  lay  behind  all  this  would  occur 
to  the  Governor,  as  well  as  the  awful  mountain-glories  of 
which  these  only  formed  the  gateway  ;  and  he  almost  wished 
that  he  could  go  on  and  penetrate  the  heart  of  the  great 
mystery.  But  then,  again,  looking  up  to  those  cloud-piercing 
granite  heights,  seeing  the  black  frown  that  settled  over  them 
at  any  moment  when  the  sun  withdrew  its  light,  and  marking 
the  altogether  threatening  and  gloomy  character  of  the 
scenery,  he  would  remember  with  a  shudder  of  pleasure,  that 
he  was  not  going  any  farther  than  Coire,  and  that  while  he 
should  be  rolling  comfortably  back  to  Zurich,  and  so  on  to 
Basle  (where  he  must  hurry,  now,  for  those  letters  !),  Johannes 
Taurus  and  his  son  would  be  floundering  miserably  among 
those  gloomy  and  dangerous  passes,  of  which  the  surround¬ 
ing  great  peaks  could  be  dimly  seen  in  the  far  distance  ;  and 
how  much  better  off,  all  said,  was  the  man  ?iot  bound  for  Italy 
than  the  man  who  was! 

Directly  they  broke  out  from  the  close  highlands  bordering 
the  rugged  road,  and  came  at  once  upon  the  upper  end  of  the 
Lake  of  Zurich  proper,  and  the  lower  end  of  the  upper  lake — 
at  Rapperschwyl,  to  which  point  they  could  have  come  all  the 
way  by  steamer  from  Zurich  had  they  been  so  minded.  And 
what  a  view  they  had,  even  from  the  confined  windows  of  the 
railway  carriage,  with  the  noon  sun  come  out  in  its  glory  and 
making  a  track  of  gold  along  the  dark  blue  waters  of  the  lake 
at  the  right  ;  with  steamers  filled  with  tourists  and  excursion¬ 
ists,  plying  hither  and  thither,  landing  and  departing,  and  giv¬ 
ing  the  whole  scene  the  aspect  of  life,  pleasure  and  variety; 
with  the  great  mountains  coming  down  to  the  edge  of  the 
water,  almost  in  their  very  faces,  and  the  Murtschenstock  and 
Frohnalpstock,  giants  among  the  giants,  lifting  their  snow- 
crowned  heads  behind,  with  the  calm  inaccessibility  of  all 
things  surpassingly  grand  and  noble. 

For  the  next  half  hour  the  run  had  this  great  mountain 
range  on  the  right,  and  the  calmer  beauty  of  hill-bordered 
dark  blue  water  on  the  left.  For  they  were  running  along  the 


AN  ALPINE  DRIF1. 


185 


very  shore  of  the  Upper  Lake  ;  and  the  clearing  sky  enabled 
the  eve  to  take  in  the  first  hint  of  that  feature  afterwards  des¬ 
tined  almost  to  satiate  it,  in  the  presence  of  ruined  castle  and 
crumbling  tower,  each  picturesque  as  if  built  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  satisfy  the  sense  ;  on  towering  peak  and  ap¬ 
parently  inaccessible  crag,  where  it  seemed  that  it  must  have 
needed  quite  as  bold  a  man  to  build  as  to  invade.  Then,  com¬ 
ing  out  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Upper  Lake,  they  entered  on 
the  wide  Linth  Valley,  and  had  first  a  wonderful  view  up  into 
the  snow-encircled  Valley  of  Glarus,  and  then  a  proof  how 
human  will  and  might  can  combat  the  most  formidable  oppo¬ 
sition  of  nature — in  those  grand  water-works  of  massive  granite 
leading  the  Linth  River  into  the  Lake  of  Wallenstadt  (seen 
dark  and  blue,  with  its  perpendicular  precipices,  here  at  the 
left),  the  erection  draining  a  broad  extent  of  country  that  had 
before  been  over-soaked  and  unfertile,  preventing  inundations 
once  periodically  perilling  the  lives  of  half  the  people  of  the 
valley,  and  reflecting  such  immortal  honor  on  the  great  head 
of  the  iron-founding  house  of  Escher,  at  Zurich,  who  planned 
and  perfected  the  work,  that  for  him  and  him  alone  the  Re¬ 
public  broke  through  its  stern  rule  of  republican  simplicity 
and  created  a  title  of  nobility  by  naming  him  Escher  Von  der 
Linth. 

It  was  at  Sargans,  after  enjoyment  of  numerous  tunnels, 
some  iron  bridges,  and  every  variety  of  blended  lake-and- 
•mountain  scenery,  that  they  came  again  upon  that  river  which 
seems  to  run  through  half  Europe,  and  set  more  than  half 
Europe  in  recurring  conflicts — entering  the  Valley  of  the 
Rhine.  Ah,  then,  the  observer  knew  in  a  moment  the 
meaning  of  the  old  castles  crowning  the  heights,  and  the 
vineyards  fighting  for  every  foot  of  ground  among  the 
rising  rocks  ;  for,  granted  a  bit  of  the  Rhine  and  a  strip  of 
high  ground  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood,  ruined  castles  and 
vineyards  follow  as  naturally  as  potatoes  the  track  of  the 
Irishman,  or  sauer  kraut  and  sausages  that  of  the  German. 

If  such  a  thing  could  be,  as  the  roughenin^of  the  scenery 
from  what  it  had  been,  half  an  hour  before,  that  change  took 


186 


O  VER  HA  LF-E  UROPE. 


place  as  they  left  Sargans  and  made  a  momentary  halt  at  Ra- 
gatz,  the  wonderful  cleft  in  the  rocks,  and  fall,  of  which,  they 
did  not  have  time  to  see,  and  must  take  it  upon  trust  as  what 
they  call  it — one  of  the  most  wildly-grand  features  in  all  Swiss 
scenery.  Neither  could  they  go  to  the  Baths  of  Pfeiffers, 
lying  very  near  at  the  right ;  for  though  the.  waters  might  have 
done  them  more  or  less  of  good  (probably  less)  had  the  Govern¬ 
or  not  in  view  the  immediate  and  hurried  journey  to  Basle? 

More  old  castles — some  with  histories  dating  back  to  the 
Roman  Empire;  cascades  innumerable,  formed  by  the  melt¬ 
ing  snows  on  the  peaks,  and  tumbling  white  down  the  sides  of 
the  mountains,  wearing  ravines  and  great  gorges  as  they  went  ; 
bridges  in  all  the  modes  of  construction  known  to  a  bridge¬ 
building  world,  over  gorges  already  worn,  and  defiles  of  all 
the  varieties  of  rugged  depth  and  duskiness;  then  with  a  fer¬ 
tile  district  opening  about  them  as  they  rattled  on,  and  yet 
grand  mountain-summits  all  around  them,  and  the  snowy  peak 
of  Calanda  overlooking  the  whole  and  giving  aggregate  gran¬ 
deur  to  a  thousand  minor  details.  Such  were  the  salient  fea¬ 
tures  of  that  last  half-hour  of  journey  by  rail,  as  they  bade 
adieu  to  the  Canton  Glarus  and  the  little  corner  of  the  Canton 
St.  Gallen  that  they  had  been  crossing,  and  came  into  the  Can¬ 
ton  of  the  Grisons,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  wildly  moun¬ 
tainous  in  all  Switzerland — approaching  that  place  which  has 
so  many  names,  in  the  different  languages,  that  no  one  knows 
when  it  is  spoken  of,  but  best  known  to  ordinary  Alpine  trav¬ 
ellers  as  Coire,  with  an  alternative  of  Chur. 


XXIII. 

ASCENDING  THE  SPLUGEN  PASS. 

At  Coire  the  Governor  was  to  bid  goodby  to  Taurus  and 
the  Junior,  circumstances  being  imperative  and  the  call  to 
Basle  not  the  least  of  them.  But  what  odd  things  we  do, 
sometimes  ! — and  how  we  trifle  on  the  edge  of  precipices  that 
we  have  no  intention  of  allowing  ourselves  to  tumble  down  ! 
For  one  of  Cook’s  Swiss  Tourist  Guides  lay  on  the  table  of 
the  little  reception-room  at  the  Hotel  Steinbock  ;  and  not  even 
the  recollection  of  the  Governor’s  position  could  prevent  his 
taking  it  up  and  reading  those  words  so  eminently  dangerous  to 
a  person  in  his  situation — the  following  opinion  of  the  Splugen 
Pass,  given  by  a  lady  of  eminence,  after  having  made  several 
of  the  great  crossings  of  the  Alps  :  “  I  have  crossed  by  the  Mt. 
Cenis  Pass,  the  St.  Gotthard,  and  the  Simplon  ;  and  though 
each  has  its  peculiar  attractions,  yet  the  Splugen  Pass  is 
truly  the  most  magnificent  road  over  the  Alps.  No  one  can 
go  over  this  road,  and  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it,  without  feel¬ 
ing  that  the  mind  has  been  enlarged  by  the  communion 
with  nature  in  her  noble  grandeur.”  Fine  reading  this,  for 
a  man  debarred  from  going  over  the  road — just  on  the  point 
of  parting  from  those  who  were  going  over  ! 

Also  rational  and  reasonable  was  that  toying  with  the 
tempter,  in  which  he  indulged  while  Taurus  and  his  son  were 
looking  after  the  luggage — which  indulgence  consisted  in  in¬ 
specting  the  carriages  standing  around  the  door  of  the  hotel, 
with  the  Alpine  grime  still  on  their  wheels  and  cushions,  and 
inquiring  the  price  at  which,  if  he  had  a  fancy  to  go  over,  he 
could  hire  a  private  carriage  and  thus  escape  the  loaded  and 
lumbering  diligence.  Fortunately,  thus  far  the  danger  did  not 
press  very  closely  ;  for  the  prices  named  by  the  station-master 
were  so  abominable  that  his  lean  portemonnaie  rattled  at  the 
thought.  “Ah,  well  !  ”  he  sighed,  as  he  saw  Taurus  and  the 
Junior  coming  out  ;  “ah,  well  !  it  is  all  right.  I  will  dine,  go 


188 


O  VER  HALF  E UROPE. 


back  to  Zurich,  and  then  to  Basle  ;  and  what  a  delightful  time 
i  shall  enjoy  to-night,  reading  my  letters  !  ”  So  he  took  a 
promenade  with  his  new  friends  around  the  queer,  uneven  old 
mountain  village  ;  talked  with  them  of  the  route  they  were 
about  to  traverse  ;  remarked,  with  a  sort  of  grim  satisfaction, 
that  there  seemed  a  promise  of  more  rain,  which  would  catch 
them  in  the  mountains  ;  then  bade  them  goodby,  and  went 
in  to  dinner  and  to  prepare  for  the  return  train  to  Zurich, 
and — Basle.  What,  except  the  incipient  feeling  of  another  and 
final  drift,  could  have  induced  him  again  to  go  into  the  booking- 
office,  to  ask  about  the  different  routes  to  that  ever-recurring 
and  never-reached  Basle?  But  he  did  so,  and  inquired  if  there 
was  not  some  other  way  than  that  through  Zurich,  by  which 
he  could  proceed  ?  Yes  ;  there  was  another,  a  little  longer,  by 
Olten.  Ah  !  then  he  would  go  by  that,  and  have  one  more 
glimpse  of  new  scenery.  “But,”  remarked  the  station- 
master,  recognizing  the  Governor’s  identity  as  the  late  in¬ 
quirer,  “were  you  not  asking,  a  little  while  ago,  about  going 
to  Italy?  ”  He  shamefacedly  confessed  that  he  had  been,  but 
that  he  had  now  made  up  his  mind  not  to  go.  “  Ah  !  then  it 
is  of  no  consequence,”  said  the  master  ;  “  but  if  you  had 
wished  to  go,  the  conveyance  would  be  much  cheaper  now,  as 
two  or  three  carriages  are  just  in  from  C'olico,  and  as  they 
may  possibly  be  obliged  to  return  with  light  fares,  some  of  the 
vetturini  might  be  bargained  with  at  an  advantage." 

The  Governor  felt  a  cold  shiver  seizing  him,  as  in  the  presence 
of  some  imminent  danger.  He  stole  a  glance  at  the  man’s 
feet,  to  see  if  he  had  hoofs  or  any  pedal  mark  of  the  Tempter, 
but  only  saw  a  heavily-booted  foot.  Then  he  listened  to  hear 
how  deep  a  thunder  that  was,  echoing  from  warning  after 
warning  against  Italy  at  that  season — as  well  as  the  smaller 
voice,  much  nearer  bis  heart,  calling  him  to  Basle  and  his  let¬ 
ters.  And  then,  having  resisted  temptation  quite  as  long  as 
could  be  expected  of  a  poor  fellow  who  was  drifting,  he  said  : 
“  Send  me  your  vetturino,  and  let  me  price  him.”  Those  words 
sealed  his  doom  ;  for  in  a  moment  more  he  was  in  conference 
with  a  dark-faced  and  dark-bearded,  good-looking  and  evi- 


UP  THE  SPLUGEN. 


189 


dently  good-humored  man  of  a  little  over  fifty,  inspiring  con¬ 
fidence  as  one  to  be  trusted  and  depended  upon.  He  spoke 
no  English,  but  very  good  Italian-French, — had  a  good  trap, 
and  a  solid-looking  pair  of  French  horses.  In  ten  minutes 
more  the  Governor  had  struck  up  a  bargain  with  him,  on  be¬ 
half  of  Taurus,  the  Junior  and  himself,  for  conveyance  that 
day  to  Thusis ;  the  next  day  to  Splugen  and  over  the  Splugen 
Pass  to  Chiavenna,  at  the  Italian  foot  ofthe  mountains  ;  and  the 
third  day  to  Colico,  end  of  the  route,  on  Lake  Como.  Then, 
when  the  thing  was  accomplished,  his  companions  notified, 
and  all  the  arrangements  made  for  leaving  in  three  hours  for 
the  route — then  the  thunders  of  warning  and  the  whispers  of 
affection  ceased  altogether,  for  the  time,  in  the  certainty  that 
he  was  indeed  and  irrevocably  drifting  over  the  Alps,  by  way 
of  the  Splugen. 

They  left  Coire  at  4:30  that  afternoon,  in  the  strong,  low, 
open  carriage,  with  top  ready  for  throwing  up  at  an)r  moment, 
and  drawn  by  two  horses  that  looked  like  slow  but  steady  go¬ 
ing.  What  they  had  of  heavy  baggage  was  in  the  boot  behind  ; 
the  lighter  and  most  frequently  wanted  bags  were  on  the  front 
seat;  while  Taurus  and  the  Governor  occupied  the  back  one, 
and  the  J unior  sat  beside  the  driver,  so  that  no  one  rode  back¬ 
ward.  And  here  let  it  be  said  that  no  wheel  arrangement  for 
crossing  the  Alps  can  be  better  than  that  just  indicated — the 
carriage  of  that  kind;  the  luggage  so  arranged  ;  the  number 
of  passengers  not  beyond  three,  or  at  the  most  four;  the  dri¬ 
ver,  one  who  understands  and  speaks  some  one  language  that 
can  be  understood  and  spoken  by  at  least  some  one  of  the 
passengers  (most  of  them  speak  Italian,  many  French,  but 
scarcely  any  English,  on  this  route),  and  the  whole  arrange¬ 
ment  under  the  charge  of  as  clever  and  capable  an  old  fellow 
as  held  the  reins  on  that  occasion. 

And  what  a  wonderful  land  was  that,  even  to  ejms  which,  like 
the  Governor’s,  had  known  the  White  Alps  somewhat  closely 
— what  a  wonderful  land,  into  which  they  were  rolling  away, 
as  they  left  mountain-girdled  Coire  that  afternoon,  with  the 
storm  quite  ceased  and  the  sun  touching  even  the  baldest 


190 


O  VER  JIALF-E  UROPE. 


and  roughest  peaks  with  his  glory  !  A  wonderful  land,  in¬ 
deed  ;  for  the  Canton  of  the  Grisons  is  literally  all  high 
mountains,  and  their  narrow  intersecting  valleys,  the  former 
being  almost  innumerable  and  the  latter  said  to  number  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty.  Not  many  snow-peaks,  on  this 
portion  of  the  route  ;  but  awful  cragg}^  heights  lifting  them¬ 
selves  apparently  to  the  very  skies,  with  sloping  “alps”  of 
green  pasture  here  and  there,  running  far  upward  toward  the 
tops,  specked  with  the  climbing  goats  or  the  adventurous 
cattle,  and  dotted  with  the  little  chalets,  with  overhanging 
eaves  and  the  traditional  scattering  of  heavy  stones  on  their 
roofs,  to  keep  either  the  shingles  or  the  chalets  themselves 
(no  one  can  quite  decide  which)  from  blowing  away  in  winter. 
Between  the  mountains,  narrow  vales  of  the  most  luxuriant 
fertility,  the  vine  and  the  potato  most  common,  and  the  maize 
of  the  American  cornfield  a  frequent  feature,  seen  scarcely' 
anywhere  else  in  Europe  as  in  Switzerland,  the  Tyrol  and 
Italy. 

The  Governor  had  felt  the  necessity,  leaving  Coire,  of 
throwing  himself  a  little  on  the  mercy  of  Taurus,  in  advance — 
advising  him  that  his  nervous  system  was  not  in  the  best  of 
order,  so  that  he  must  expect  and  pardon  certain  shiverings 
and  shrinkings  that  would  be  inevitable;  as  also  that  he  could 
not  walk  well  just  then,  and  would  undoubtedly  suffer  from 
fatigue  in  the  event  of  any  exertion  being  necessary — in  which 
case  Taurus  must  also  bear  with  him.  And  Taurus  had  kindly 
assured  the  Governor  of  his  disposition  not  to  laugh  at  him 
except  under  the  most  extreme  provocation,  and  his  benevo¬ 
lent  resolve  not  to  leave  the  disabled  to  perish  miserably  in  the 
mountains,  except  through  the  direst  necessity.  These  as¬ 
surances,  from  the  man  who  seemed  to  be  as  strong  as  his 
prototype,  and  to  have  no  tremors  whatever,  yvere  a  great 
comfort — apart  from  the  resource  of  a  bottle  of  Ileidsieck 
that  had  been  stowed  ayvay  in  a  spot  convenient  of  access,  to 
be  used  for  raising  the  spirits  in  great  emergencies- — which 
bottle  of  Ileidsieck,  by  the  yvay,  grew  impatient  of  being  shut 
away  from  the  outer  air  and  scenery,  went  off  of  its  own 


UP  THE  SPLUGEX. 


191 


accord,  and  half-filled  Taurus’  satchel,  to  the  deprivation  of 
both  and  the  serious  moistening  of  the  owner’s  papers. 
Moral :  In  carrying  champagne  over  the  Alps,  don't  carry  it 
in  a  bottle,  if  there  is  room  to  put  it  anywhere  else  ! 

But  what  a  fool  the  Governor  felt  himself  to  have  been,  in 
making  such  a  confession  of  weakness,  as  they  bowled  along 
by  Ems  (a  straggling  little  village,  very  different  from  the  old 
gambling  place  of  the  same  name,  in  Germany),  and  by 
Reichenau,  where  they  were  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  reach 
Thusis  for  an  early  supper  and  bed,  to  pause  for  a  glance  at 
the  old  chateau  of  that  name,  where  Louis  Philippe  hid  him¬ 
self  away  under  the  humble  name  of  Chabot,  in  the  dark  days 
of  the  first  French  Reign  of  Terror.  What  a  fool  he  felt  him¬ 
self  to  have  been  !  What  was  there,  in  crossing  the  Alps,  to 
make  any  one  shudder  ?  What  was  there  to - 

Powers  of  might ! — What  was  that  ahead  at  the  moment  ? 
There  is  an  old  axiom  :  “  Never  crow  until  you  are  out  of  the 
woods!”  and  we  may  add  to  it  :  “Never  brag  until  you  are 
through  the  Alps  !’’  Once  more,  what  was  that  ahead?  Why, 
they  were  simply  driving  to  destruction,  to  annihilation — 
nothing  more  nor  less  !  They  were  on  the  side  of  a  mountain 
that  had  been  gradual  in  its  slope,  but  which  had  been  sharp¬ 
ening  in  descent  without  their  noticing  the  fact ;  and  now,  all 
at  once,  what  had  only  been  a  valley  below,  became  an  awful 
narrow  gorge,  hundreds  of  feet  down,  with  the  road  drawing 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  edge,  and  a  view,  ahead,  of  a  point 
that  must  be  passed  on  the  left,  if  they  were  to  go  on,  falling 
away  perhaps  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  feet  below,  and 
rising  two  or  three  times  that  distance  sheer  above  at  the 
other  side  of  that  mere  sheep-track  or  shelf  that  seemed  just 
wide  enough  for  the  wheeling  of  a  railway  wheelbarrow  ! 

The  Governor  was  just  clutching  the  arm  of  Taurus,  when 
he  felt  him  clutching  his.  There  was  a  community  of  feelinrr — 
in  plain  words,  a  mutual  fright :  that  was  evident ;  and  proba¬ 
bly  1  he  fact  was  not  displeasing,  so  far  as  it  went.  “Good 
Lord,  old  man  !  ”  the  Governor  said — “  do  you  see  what  we 
have  to  pass  ?  ”  “  See  it !  I  wish  that  I  did  not  see  it  quite 


192 


O  YEP,  II A  LF  E  FRO  PE. 


so  well  !  ”  was  his  reassuring  response.  They  looked  at  the 
vetturino,  who  was  calmly  driving  ahead,  and  at  the  Junior, 
who  sat  beside  him,  appararently  both  unconscious  of  any¬ 
thing  extraordinary  ;  and  there  was  really  something  calming 
to  the  two  "old  fools,”  in  the  unconsciousness  of  the  young 
fool,  who  did  not  know  what  apparent  peril  meant,  and  the 
habituated  driver,  to  whom  an  Alpine  precipice  meant  no  more 
than  a  yard-arm  means  to  a  sailor  at  sea. 

At  all  events,  the  thought  struck  both  that  it  would  not  be 
precisely  the  thing  to  tell  the  driver  to  stop  and  turnback; 
though  the  Governor  wished  himself  for  the  moment — say  at 
Basle — reading  his  letters  !  At  last,  as  the  point  was  approach¬ 
ing  nearer  and  nearer,  the  shelf  (apparently) growing  narrower 
and  narrower,  and  when  they  were  both  ready  to  jump  out  of 
their  seats  in  nervous  tremor — the  Governor  hit  upon  what 
he  thought  about  the  best  course  under  the  circumstances. 
“  See  here,  Taurus,”  he  whispered,  hoarsely,  “  it  is  all  right,  I 
suppose,  because  the  driver  must  know  his  road,  and  people 
pass  along  here  every  day  ;  the  looks  of  the  thing  are  all  the 
trouble.  Let  us  shut  our  eyes,  and  think  of  something  else  !" 
“  Well  so  we  will,”  answered  his  companion,  between  what 
seemed  to  be  teeth  already  shut. 

They  must  at  that  moment  have  come  nearly  to  the  point 
they  were  to  round,  and. were  on  a  flat  shelf  of  road,  thrice 
the  width  of  the  carriage,  hewn  into  the  solid  crag,  with  a  line 
of  low  posts  and  a  flimsy  little  low  wooden  rail  at  the  edge, 
and  that  awful,  narrow,  perpendicular  gulf  yawning  below. 
They  shut  their  eyes,  as  per  agreement,  and  so  went  round 
that  point;  but  neither  of  them  kept  the  other  part  of  the 
compact  and  “  thought  of  something  else.”  Think  of  some¬ 
thing  else  ! — when  a  wheel  might  come  off,  when  a  horse 
might  shy,  when  a  rein  or  a  bit  of  harness  might  give  way  ; 
and  in  either  case,  such  a  flying  leap  into  eternity  would  be 
taken,  as  curdles  the  blood  a  little  to  think  of,  even  at  a 
distance.  Laughable  now,  of  course,  but  it  was  not  laughable 
then.  For  that  first  moment  it  was  horrible;  there  is  no  other 
word  descriptive  of  the  situation  ;  to  a  nervous,  unaccustomed 
and  imaginative  person — simply  horrible / 


UP  THE  SPLUGEN. 


193 


It  has  been  necessary  to  dwell  a  little  at  length  upon  this 
point,  because  the  experience  was  the  first  of  its  kind,  though, 
as  before  suggested,  it  proved  to  be  nothing  beside  some 
others  occurring  later  ;  and  because,  at  one  time  as  well  as 
another,  the  attempt  must  be  made  to  convey  some  impres¬ 
sion  of  the  single  feature  which  makes  whatever  of  fear  or 
anxiety  there  is  connected  with  an  Alpine  crossing.  All  those 
who  have  been  at  all  among  high  mountains  know  that  they 
are  ascended  or  descended,  not  by  goingup  or  down  in  straight 
lines  of  ascent  or  descent,  but  by  creeping  round  their  curves 
in  one  direction  or  the  other.  Now,  as  the  Alps  are  won- 
drously  high,  with  fearfully  deep  ravines  between— and  as  they 
are  almost  all  of  solid  rock,  making  excavation  difficult  and 
costl}r,  and  obliging  the  builders  to  make  the  roads  as  narrow 
as  can  allow  two  vehicles  to  pass  abreast — this  threatening 
feature  may  be  easily  understood,  without  remembering  the 
pictures  that  have  made  our  blood  chill,  sometimes,  in  galler¬ 
ies  or  in  magazines. 

Here  a  road  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  wide,  with  a  line  of  posts 
far  apart,  and  a  single  fragile  rail  at  the  edge ;  above,  perhaps 
overhanging,  solid  rock  beetling  away  to  the  sky  ;  below,  and 
with  a  dreadfully  fascinating  power  to  make  one  look  down  — 
gorge,  ravine,  gulf,  sheer  precipice,  or  what  you  will,  in  depth 
one  hundred,  three  hundred,  five  hundred,  a  thousand  feet, 
with  a  bed  of  broken  rocks  or  a  white  brawling  stream  at  the 
bottom,  to  add  to  the  suggestiveness  of  the  whole  arrange¬ 
ment.  Perhaps  all  this,  below,  naked,  bare,  awfully  visible  ; 
perhaps  with  just  enough  of  trees  at  various  points  to  break 
the  view,  confuse  the  calculation,  and  add  immeasurably  to 
the  impression  of  that  tremendous  descent. 

Well,  when  they  opened  their  eyes,  they  were  safely  round 
the  point,  with — thank  all  the  fates  ! — no  more  of  the  same 
sort  immediately  to  follow.  They  were  descending  slightly, 
now— going  down  into  another  Valley  ofi the  Rhine ,  and  that  of 
the  Nolla  opening  into  it,  with  the  picturesque  scattered 
houses  and  spires  of  the  large  village  of  Thusis  in  full  view  ■ 
rising  behind  it,  the  awful  cliffs  and  peaks  marking  the  entrance 


194: 


O  VER  HALF  E  UEOPE. 


to  the  Via  Mala  ;  great  mountains,  many  of  them  snow-capped 
or  snow-striped,  bounding  the  far  view  on  every  hand  ;  and  on 
the  tops  of  what  seemed  inaccessible  nearer  and  lower  peaks, 
where  no  foot  but  that  of  the  mountaineer  could  by  any  possi¬ 
bility  have  climbed — houses  ;  churches,  with  their  white  spires 
pointing  still  higher;  ruined  towers  in  profusion;  and  the 
remains  of  one  old  castle,  dimly  seen  against  the  sky,  said  to 
be  the  oldest  in  Switzerland,  and  to  have  an  undoubted 
antiquity  of  two  thousand  years. 

More  extensive  views  may  often  be  caught  in  mountain- 
lands,  but  few  more  remarkable  ones  than  that  over  Thusis 
and  the  entrance  to  the  Via  Mala,  with  that  tall  arched  bridge 
over  the  Nolla,  and  those  ruined  and  unruincd  buildings 
perched  at  heights  where  they  could  be  of  no  possible  use 
except  to  mountaineers,  gymnasts  and  squirrels. 

Thusis  was  the  goal  of  that  day’s  pilgrimage ;  and  the 
Governor,  who  should  have  slept  at  Basle,  slept  in  a  hotel  with 
an  ominous  name  (the  Via  Mala — “  bad  way  ”),  but  with  all 
the  comforts  and  half  the  elegances  of  a  palace,  where  he  had 
expected  to  find  at  the  best  a  mere  cabin.  Such  hotels  are 
the  effects  of  extended  and  increasing  travel  through  the 
Alps — much  of  it,  and  of  course  the  best  paying  of  it,  being 
American. 

Taurus  and  the  Governor  took  a  little  walk  that  evening, 
over  the  Bridge  of  the  Nolla,  and  up  the  commencement  of 
the  Via  Mala,  which  was  to  be  traversed  in  the  morning  ;  and 
then  they  held  a  short  conference  on  the  bridge,  quite  as 
decisive  in  its  results,  if  not  so  important,  as  the  old  historical 
meeting  on  the  Bridge  of  Montereau.  They  knew  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  Italian  name,  “  Via  Mala,”  already  given — “  bad 
road  or  way” — and  its  reputation  as  one  of  the  worst  passages 
in  the  Alps  ;  they  had  caught  a  little  glimpse  of  it,  as  a 
sample  ;  and  each  was  not  only  slightly  frightened,  but  knew 
that  the  other  was  so,  and  that  the  other  knew  that  he  was  so  ! 
Yet,  after  the  manner  of  the  diplomats,  they  went  round  the 
fact,  if  they  did  not  falsify  it.  “  Taurus,”  the  Governor  said, 
“  don’t  you  think  it  unhealthy  to  ride  so  much — always  sitting. 


nr  TH  E  S PLVOEN. 


196 


you  know — especially  in  the  morning?”  “Yes,  I  think  that 
1  should  like  to  walk  instead  of  riding — say  early  to-morrow, 
just  as  a  matter  of  health,”  was  the  reply.  “  Taurus,”  con¬ 
tinued  the  Governor,  “  suppose  that  we  should  get  up  very 
early  in  the  morning,  get  our  coffee,  and  start  on  foot,  say  at 
five,  leaving  the  carriage  and  the  boy  to  follow  at  six,  so  that 

we - ”  “  Can  get  our  legs  stretched  before  the  carriage 

comes  up,”  he  interrupted,  perhaps  to  keep  his  companion 
from  adding  what  might  have  concluded  the  sentence — “so 
that  we  can  get  over  the  worst  before  the  carriage  overtakes  us." 
Probably  they  both  slept  better  than  they  might  have  done, 
when  that  arrangement  had  been  made.  And  certain  it  is  that 
they  were  up  at  four,  had  their  coffee  at  half-past,  and  were 
on  their  way  up  the  Via  Mala  at  a  little  past  five,  very 
much  obliged  by  that  brief  piece  of  advice  which  they  had 
found  in  the  Guide  Book  :  “  Tourists,  who  wish  to  catch  all  the 
best  points  of  scenery,  are  advised,  whenever  practicable,  to  walk 
through  the  Via  Mala."  Ah  !  that  was  the  explanation,  after 
all — they  were  going  to  walk,  instead  of  riding,  so  as  to  catch 
the  views  to  better  advantage  ! 


JOHANNES  TAURUS. 


14 


IXISIIIX- 

THE  VIA  MALA  AND  THE  SPLUGNERBERG. 


The  Via  Mala,  as  they  saw  it  that  clear,  fine  morning  of 
July — who  shall  describe  it,  or  give  any  idea  of  its  character? 
Says  one  of  the  Guide-Books  :  “  It  is  a  remarkable  fissure,  five 
miles  long,  a  few  feet  wide,  fifteen  hundred  feet  high,  formed 
by  a  natural  convulsion,  as  is  obvious  from  the  sides  sharply 
corresponding;”  and  it  adds  that: — “the  carriage  road,  per¬ 
fectly  protected  by  a  parapet,  is  hewn  out  of  a  rock  on  one 
side,  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  above  the  thin 
Rhine,  which  moans  away  below.”  About  the  perfect  protec¬ 
tion  of  the  parapet  there  may  be  two  opinions  :  it  is  very  well 
for  people  on  foot ;  but  lor  those  in  a  carriage,  or  especially  for 
those  perched  on  the  high  outer  seat  of  a  diligence,  we  may 
borrow  one  of  the  cant  phrases  of  the  day,  and  say  that  it 
seems  to  be  “  too  thin  ”!  Butof  the  rest  of  the  quotation  there 
cannot  be  any  question.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  wonder¬ 
ful  of  mountain  clefts  in  the  solid  rock — wonderful  in  height, 
in  length,  in  wildness  reaching  the  verge  of  the  terrible.  Take 
the  idea  of  the  Flume  at  the  Franconia  Notch  of  the  White 
Mountains,  retain  the  character,  and  multiply  it,  sajr  by  ten 
thousand,  and  then  some  idea  of  the  rift  of  the  Via  Mala  may 
be  formed.  Then,  and  afterward,  in  the  awfully  wild  scenery 
of  all  this  region,  one  idea  seemed  haunting  the  spectator,  as 
he  looked  up  at  the  dark  beetling  rocks  that  seemed  limitless 
in  their  height,  interminable  in  their  extent,  and  indescribable 
in  their  mass,  and  wild,  terrible  broken  roughness:  that  an 
angry  God,  wishing  for  once  to  show  to  scoffers  1 1  is  ascend¬ 
ancy  over  matter,  had  taken  all  the  primal  elements  of  a  world 
and  hurled  them,  in  frightful  and  yet  attractive  confusion,  to 
be  wondered  over  and  shuddered  at  by  the  crawling  worms 
who  call  themselves  men,  but  never  removed  in  the  slightest 
particle  or  particular,  till  the  same  Almighty  Hand  shall 
change  their  position  once  more, — perhaps  melt  them  as  metal 


VIA  MALA  AND  SPLUONERBERO. 


197 


in  the  whelming  flame  of  the  Last  Day  !  To  a  thinking  mind, 
disbelievers  and  ail  irreverent  people  should  keep  away  from 
the  Via  Mala:  it  might  have  a  tendency  to  disturb  them ,  and 
that  should  be  avoided. 

And  yet,  perhaps,  we  are  all  irreverent,  as  well  as  often  ridic¬ 
ulous — even  in  the  most  solemn  of  places.  For  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  can  laugh  at  himself,  now,  and  could  probably  have 
laughed  had  he  only  seen  himself  with  distant  eyes,  then — 
noting  the  figure  that  both  Taurus  and  he  may  have  cut  that 
morning,  even  in  the  midst  of  their  continued  raptures  over 
the  scenery.  As  when  they  were  literally  crawling  (though 
not  on  all  fours)  round  some  of  the  sharpest  points,  and 
especially  round  that  awful  one  at  the  Lost  Gulf,  where  the 
confusion  of  elements  is  so  great  that  no  man  has  ever  yet 
been  able  to  find  the  river  or  the  place  where  it  runs  (whence 
the  name) — crawling  round  these  points,  not  only  avoiding 
the  edge  of  the  road,  except  in  certain  moments  of  peeping 
over,  but  even  hugging  the  wall  as  if  the  way  was  not  quite 
wide  enough.  Or  when  they  actually  balanced  themselves,  in 
the  apprehension  of  toppling,  before  making  the  plunge 
across  the  great  Premiere  Pont,  or  First  Bridge,  in  the  middle 
of  the  pass,  on  the  top  of  which,  taking  into  comparison  its 
size,  with  the  depth  of  the  gorge  to  the  river  at  the  bottom, 
on  either  side,  a  carriage  and  horses,  of  which  they  fortu¬ 
nately  saw  a  specimen  passing  over,  look  as  if'they  constituted 
one  of  those  six-inch  toy  conveyances  that  little  people  of 
three  years  old  drag  around  the  floor  by  a  string ! 

Before  the  carriage  overtook  them,  they  were  well  through 
the  Via  Mala,  after  a  communion  with  the  grand  and  the 
terrible  in  nature,  not  often  found  in  any  line  of  travel, 
in  any  land,  and  for  which  they  were  largely  indebted,  oil 
that  occasion,  to  being  on  foot.  They  had  passed  through 
Zillis,  with  its  crumbling  towers  on  the  heights  above,  where 
they  made  the  first  intimate  acquaintance  with  hungry  dogs 
and  the  Italian-Swiss  habit  of  painting  the  outsides  of  half 
the  houses  with  bright-colored  devotional  pictures  of  the 
Madonna  and  the  Saints  ; — they  had  passed  this,  and  were 


198 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


well  on  their  way  to  Andcer,  when  the  carriage  came  laboring 
up,  with  a  third  horse  on  the  lead  and  a  horse-boy  hanging 
behind.  It  was  only  then  that  they  realized  how  sharp  must 
have  been  their  six  and  a  half  miles  of  walk  up  from  Thusis, 
in  two  and  a  quarter  hours — and  recognized  the  power  of  eye 
and  brain  to  take  away  the  feeling  of  fatigue  from  the  limbs. 
The  carriage  overtook  them  at  7:30  ;  and  they  rolled  through 
the  very  old  town  of  Andeer,  with  many  of  the  features  of 
Zillis  :  some  half-asleep  dirty  people  who  seemed  gazing  out 
in  wonder  that  they  did  not  stop  at  the  dreadful-looking 
apology  for  a  hotel,  for  breakfast ;  and  a  few  dogs  who  were 
evidently  vexed  at  not  being  able  to  reach  their  heels. 

It  was  not  far  beyond  Andeer  that  they  entered  upon  a  sec¬ 
ond  or  smaller  edition  of  the  Via  Mala,  called  the  Gorge  of 
Rofla  (or  Rofna),  with  a  wonderful  series  of  white  and  roar¬ 
ing  cascades  of  the  Rhine,  awful  cliffs  shutting  it  in  like  a  box, 
and  some  duplication  of  the  shuddering  experience  of  the  pre¬ 
vious  evening,  on  narrow  shelves  over  frightful  precipices — 
the  experience  only  less  marked,  now,  because  they  had 
passed  over  something  so  much  worse  and  began  to  get  a 
little  used  to  the  inevitable.  It  was  when  they  were  at  about 
the  middle  of  this  pass,  that  a  crash  and  rumble  of  loud 
thunder  broke  on  their  ears,  and  Taurus  remarked  that  the 
clouds  must  be  quite  behind  the  mountains,  as  none  were  vis¬ 
ible  in  the  clear  sky.  The  Governor  for  a  moment  forgot 
where  he  was,  and  had  an  impression  that  he  was  hearing  the 
rumbling  of  the  railway  cars  passing  through  the  Mt.  Cenis 
Tunnel,  or  the  explosions  made  by  the  grimy  workmen  whom 
he  knew  to  be  at  work  boring  through  that  great  rival  tunnel 
which  is  to  undermine  the  St.  Gotthard  and  half  annihilate  the 
Alps.  This  only  for  the  moment,  however,  as  the  remem¬ 
brance  of  distances  and  directions  came  back  very  speedily. 
“  That  is  not  thunder,”  said  the  vetturino ,  in  answer  to  a  ques¬ 
tion.  “  That  is  only  a  stone,  or  perhaps  a  body  of  stones,  with 
some  snow — what  you  call  an  avalanche — rolling  down  the 
side  of  one  of  the  mountains.”  “Where?”  “Where!  who 
can  say  !  ”  and  the  gray  man  shrugged  his  shoulders  as  only  an 


VIA  MALA  AND  SPL  UGNERBEBG. 


199 


Italian  can  do.  “It  may  be  here,  there  or  anywhere;  but  be 
sure  of  one  thing — it  is  behind  us,  and  so  it  is  of  no  conse¬ 
quence.”  “  And  how  large  may  it  probably  have  been,  to 
make  that  sound?”  “  How  large  ?  That  is  still  more  difficult 
to  say.  If  a  stone,  perhaps  no  bigger  than  yourself,  or  one  of 
the  horses;  if  with  snow,  who  can  tell  how  large? — it  might 
fill  half  this  valley.”  They  were  quite  satisfied,  then,  in  sev¬ 
eral  particulars :  glad  to  have  heard  it,  as  a  sensation  ;  glad 
that  it  was,  as  the  vetturino  remarked,  behind  them,  and 
neither  before  them  nor  on  the  top  of  them  ! 

But  this  brought  them  through  the  pass,  and  out  into  mag¬ 
nificent  views  of  the  snow-peaks,  with  the  great  snow-fields 
of  the  Einshorn  seeming  almost  as  broad  and  spotless  as 
those  of  Mont  Blanc  ;  and  a  little  beyond,  the  whole  splendid 
mountain-girdled  panorama  of  the  Rheinwaldthal  (wooded 
valley  of  the  Upper  or  Hinter  Rhine)  burst  into  view,  with 
every  conceivable  feature  of  the  Alpine  landscape  in  full 
prominence,  and  Splugen  lying  immediately  before  them, 
scattered  but  picturesque-looking,  and  decidedly  welcome, 
because  it  was  to  bring  breakfast. 

“Well,”  the  Governor  said  to  Taurus,  as  they  rolled  up  to 
the  Hotel  Bodenhaus,  “  I  fancy  that  we  have  passed  the  worst, 
now,  as  well  as  probably  seen  the  best  ;  and  what  a  glorious 
morning  it  has  been  !  ”  “  Yes,  we  have  no  doubt  seen  the 

worst,  now  ;  and  crossing  the  Alps  is  not  the  most  difficult 
thing  in  the  world  to  do,  after  all  !  ”  gleefully  assented  Taurust 
as  they  alighted  and  went  in  to  that  deferred  meal.  “  Passed 
the  worst,”  had  they  ?  and  “  seen  the  best  ?  ”  As  to  both 
those  points,  probably  Taurus  and  the  Governor  were  better 
instructed  before  nightfall ! 

It  seemed  a  dreadfully  long  wait  at  Splugen,  while  they 
breakfasted,  and  then  while  the  voiturier  fed  and  groomed  his 
horses — so  anxious  were  they,  now  that  the  worst  was  over,  to 
get  on,  and  down  to  Italy.  It  was  past  noon  when  they  rattled 
away  from  the  diligences  in  the  inn-yard,  some  of  them  on 
their  way  to  Coire,  some  to  follow  over  the  Splugnerberg, 
and  others  to  take  the  other  road,  branching  away  farther 


O  VER  HALF  E  UROPE. 


200 


westward  at  this  point,  over  the  Bernardino  Pass,  to  Bellin- 
zona.  But  they  were  off  at  last,  through  the  long  gallery 
over  the  Rhine,  with  a  view,  at  no  great  distance,  of  a  roar¬ 
ing,  rushing,  cascade  pouring  down  over  wild  black  rocks, 
forming  the  head-waters  or  source  of  that  ubiquitous  river. 

And  then  they  began  to  do,  in  earnest,  what  they  had  before 
been  trifling  with — ascending :  going  up,  up,  until  it  seemed 
that  they  must  be  leaving  the  earth.  No  precipices  now — the 
ascent  on  the  sloping  side  of  the  great  mountain  of  the  Splug- 
nerburg,  up  to  the  snow-top  of  which  it  craned  the  neck  no 
little  to  look,  even  at  the  height  then  attained  ;  while,  as 
they  rose  higher  and  higher,  and  the  view  broadened  on  every 
hand,  half  the  snow-mountains  in  Switzerland  seemed  break¬ 
ing  into  view.  Up,  and  up,  by  zig-zags,  the  nature  of  which 
mode  of  ascent  must  be  conveyed  by  the  name,  as  a  line  of 
road  continually  doubling  back  upon  itself,  each  time  rising 
higher  than  the  other,  and  the  other  portions  seeming  end¬ 
lessly  below  and  hopelessly  above.  Up  and  up — sometimes 
through  woods,  breaking  the  view  and  at  the  same  time 
making  that  section  of  the  way  less  lonely  and  desolate. 

Then  the  woods  failed  entirely  :  they  were  above  what  they 
call  in  the  West  “  timber-line,”  and  would  soon  be  above  vege¬ 
tation.  Splugen  was  out  of  sight ;  half  the  despised  lower 
world  was  far  below  their  feet  ;  and  still  they  were  going 
higher — out  of  the  range  of  all  they  had  ever  loved,  thought 
or  known.  And  then  the  atmosphere  began  to  record  their 
height,  without  the  aid  of  either  of  the  “  ’ometers.”  The  air 
became  at  once  so  rarefied  that  the  lungs  did  not  know  when 
they  were  full,  and  so  cold  that  the  great  snow-banks,  now 
in  near  view  and  only  a  little  above,  appeared  to  be  shooting 
icy  darts  into  them,  as  some  of  us  have  known  the  icebergs  to 
do  at  sea.  The  good  vetturino  drew  out  from  some  concealed 
Diace  a  thick  winter  overcoat,  put  it  on,  and  then,  seeing  his 
companions  shivering  in  their  thin  wrappers,  a  burden  the 
day  before,  and  a  burden  again  the  next  day — threw  them, 
very  welcomely,  what  horse-blankets  he  could  spare  from  him¬ 
self  and  the  Junior. 


VIA  MALA  AND  SPL  UONERBERO. 


201 


“This  is  getting  fearful,  you  know — abominable!  We  are 
certainly  going  out  of  the  world,  into  a  frozen  chaos!”  chat¬ 
tered  Taurus,  at  one  point,  when  they  were  rapidly  approach¬ 
ing  the  snow  line.  Then — strange  effect  of  mentality  on  the 
physical — though  they  were  ascending  those  zig-zags  on  a 
gradual  slope,  with  no  appearance  whatever  of  danger,  and 
where  rolling  over  would  scarcely  have  been  more  serious  than 
on  an  ordinary  turnpike,  the  very  height  in  the  air  so  affected 
him  that  he  declared  his  inability  to  look  down  at  the  side  of 
the  road,  and  shrank  shivering  into  his  seat  with  shut  eyes. 

Up,  and  up,  and  up  !  The  sun  shone  clear,  and  shone  hot, 
no  doubt ;  but  it  might  as  well  have  been  a  candle,  for  any 
impartation  of  warmth  ;  and  the  wind,  that  had  been  gradually 
rising  for  the  previous  hour,  blew  a  gale  which  added  at  once 
to  the  cold  and  the  impression  of  being  swept  away.  At  last 
the  snow  line  !  Beside  them,  up  to  the  very  road,  lay  the 
great  banks  of  snow,  three  or  four  feet  deep  at  the  edge,  and 
sweeping  up  in  swales  of  untold  depth  to  the  summit,  piercing 
the  blue  air  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  ;  while  the  great  ice 
mountains  of  the  range,  the  Schneehorn  and  Surettahorn, 
more  distant,  rose  yet  thousands  of  feet  higher.  They  called 
to  the  driver  to  stop,  and  in  a  moment  both  Taurus  and  the 
Governor  were  out  of  the  carriage,  rushing  for  the  snow. 
Here  was  something  earthly  and  familiar,  thank  heaven  for 
that!  Snow-balling,  like  an  adjournment,  is  always  in  order, 
especially  when  the  material  can  be  found  in  July  ;  and  they 
went  at  it  with  a  will  ;  while  the  vetturino  thoughtfully  cooled 
the  water  in  their  bottle  with  the  snow,  and  the  Junior  struck 
for  the  summit  on  foot,  across  the  zig-zags  and  snow-banks 
(in  which  adventure,  by  the  way,  he  got  lost  in  the  ravines, 
floundered  in  the  snow,  caused  his  anxious  father  some  fear 
for  his  life,  and  came  out  at  last,  very  much  blown,  not  much 
higher  than  he  started.) 

But  Taurus  and  the  Governor  pelted  each  other,  England 
and  America,  probably  in  remembrance  of  old  conflicts  by  sea 
and  land, — until  the  voiturier  nearly  laughed  off  his  coat,  at 


202 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


about  which  time  England  came  to  grief  from  a  ball  striking 
him  in  the  dexter  eye,  and  America  from  one  lodged  in  the 
starboard  ear. 

To  carriage,  again,  then,  materially  warmed,  though  the  air 
was  icy  cold  in  the  near  approach  to  the  summit.  Here  on 
the  left,  a  broad,  low  stone  building  came  into  view  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  roadside — the  canton niere,  or  House  of 
Refuge  for  those  caught  in  sudden  snow-storms — in  a  cor¬ 
responding  one  of  which,  at  the  top  of  the  Stelvio  Pass,  by 
the  way,  a  couple  of  English  friends  found  occasion  for 
shelter  from  a  violent  snow-storm  that  very  day,  on  their 
way  from  Innspruck.  Out  of  the  windows  of  this  looked  two 
or  three  idle  faces  ;  and  by  the  door — not  wanted  now,  but 
likely  to  be  before  many  weeks  should  go  over,  lay  stretched 
one  of  those  great  St.  Bernard  dogs,  in  size  and  appearance  a 
cross  between  the  Newfoundland  and  the  Siberian  blood¬ 
hound,  with  which  the  Governor  had  made  acquaintance  years 
before  among  the  White  Alps,  and  found  them  by  no  means 
too  good-tempered  with  people  not  buried  in  the  snow,  how¬ 
ever  they  might  drag  out  and  rescue  those  who  were  ! 

A  moment  later,  and  they  were  at  the  top  of  the  Splugen 
Pass,  though  by  no  means  at  the  top  of  the  Splugnerberg, 
the  great  peak  of  which  still  soared  thousands  of  feet  above, 
endless  in  snowfields.  Before  them,  as  the  carriage  pulled  up 
at  the  middle  of  the  small  level,  stood  two  posts  of  granite, 
the  one  square,  with  beveled  top — on  the  front  the  words  : 
“  Confine,  1S65  ”  ;  and  on  the  two  sides,  “  Svizzera”  (Switzer¬ 
land)  and  “  Italia.”  The  other  looked  like  an  ordinary  flat 
erect  tomb-stone,  and  bore  the  inscription:  “Metre  2117 — 
Sulla  Livella  Della  Mara,”  announcing  the  height  of  the  pass 
— some  7,000  feet. 

They  were  at  the  top  of  the  pass,  and  the  top  of  the  Alps, 
so  far  as  this  journey  was  concerned.  Thenceforth — down¬ 
ward  ! 


zxzszrv, 

DOWN  TO  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES. 

To  carriage  again,  after  a  little  ceremony  between  Taurus 
and  the  Governor,  at  the  summit  of  the  Splugen  Pass,  welcom¬ 
ing  each  other  to  Italy  after  the  manner  of  the  old  discoverers, 
who  took  formal  possession  of  the  newly-found  lands  to 
which  they  had  no  right ;  and  then  downward  with  what 
seemed  a  very  moderate  descent  strengthening  the  idea  that 
the  “  worst  was  over."  Half  a  mile  of  this  slight  descent,  to 
the  Dogana,  or  Custom  House  of  the  Italian  side,  where  the 
examination  of  even  the  small  luggage  carried  brought  hints 
of  expective  emolument,  easy  to  be  understood,  but  equally 
easy  to  be  satisfied  (as  a  small  amount  of  money  goes  for  a 
great  deal  in  the  South  of  Europe).  And  then  on  again,  still 
with  very  moderate  descent  and  increasing  reassurance  to  the 
nervous,  for  perhaps  two  or  three  miles,  when  turning  a 
corner - 

It  would  be  miserable  affectation  to  say  that  the  breath 
fails,  now,  at  the  thought  of  that  special  moment  ;  and  yet  it 
is  no  affectation  to  say  that  the  parties  have  had  many  a  hun¬ 
dred  of  shudders  over  it,  since — by  daylight,  when  something 
recalled  it,  or  at  midnight  in  dreams.  Striking,  even  frightful,  as 
had  been  the  experience  of  the  previous  day,  what  had  it  been 
to  this  !  For  in  that  instant  opened  to  them  that  awful  “  Gulf 
of  the  Cardinell,”  the  very  name  of  which,  given  by  the 
Italians  (“  Golfa  ”),  is  sufficient  to  suggest  its  character  ;  while 
to  the  thought,  as  the  driver  called  attention  to  that  name, 
came  the  recollection  that  this  was  the  horrible  pass  down 
which  the  French  General  Brune  hurled  his  troops  in  Decem¬ 
ber,  1800,  whole  batallions  dropping  away,  man  by  man  or  in 
squads,  into  the  yawning  death  beneath,  and  the  screams 
and  appealing  drum-beats  from  below  coming  up  to  those 
who  survived,  with  a  distinctness  long  giving  the  place  a 
haunted  reputation. 


20  i 


O  VER  II A LF- EUROPE. 


No  attempt  must  be  expected  to  describe  the  Pass  of  the 
Cardinell,  as  they  saw  it  then  and  during  the  next  hour  ;  there 
is  no  language  at  command  capable  of  conveying  one  thou¬ 
sandth  part  of  the  actual  impression  when  on  the  spot.  There 
really  seemed  no  bottom  to  the  gorge,  which  is  actually  some 
1,500  to  2,000  feet  sheer  down  from  the  road;  and  so  nearly 
perpendicular  on  that  side  that  the  white  Fall  of  the  Made- 
simo,  a  little  farther  on,  leaps  nearly  one  thousand  feet  without 
touching.  At  the  far  bottom,  in  the  middle,  the  silver  thread 
of  the  little  Cardinell  river  looking  like  a  bent  knitting-needle  ; 
around  it  some  houses,  seeming  just  large  enough  to  have 
been  those  toy  structures  with  which  babies  build  villages  on 
the  nursery  carpet ;  and  these  even  tinged  with  blue  by  the 
tremendous  intervening  distance. 

Beyond,  on  the  other  side  of  the  gorge,  the  mountains  of 
Italy  rising  and  swelling  far  ahead  in  what  would  have  been 
endless  miles  of  beauty  if  seen  under  calmer  circumstances — 
luxuriant  with  chesnut  and  olive  groves,  vineyards  and  waving 
cornfields.  But  what  was  all  that  distant  view  to  them,  who 
had  matter  of  interest  so  much  nearer? — to  them,  who  hung 
in  mid  air  on  that  narrow  road,  on  that  mere  notch  in  the  per¬ 
pendicular  cliff,  as  sailors  hang  on  main-trucks,  or  birds’  nests 
on  tree-tops,  or  as  aeronauts  look  down  over  the  edges  of  their 
rising  balloons  ! 

Perhaps  it  need  scarcely  be  said  that  they  did  not  ride  over 
this  Pass ;  though  one  fancies  hearing  the  quiet  laughter  of 
some  of  those,  even  of  the  softer  sex,  who  have  done  so, 
wondering  what  on  earth  there  was  to  be  nervous  about ! 
That  they  suddenly  found  their  legs  cramped  again,  ordered 
the  vetturino  to  drive  slowly  and  wait  for  them  at  certain 
points  ;  and  then  started  for  a  short  walk  of  a  few  miles,  in  the 
blazing,  beating  afternoon  sun  falling  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain  and  quite  repairing  the  chill  of  the  late  ascent. 
The  Junior,  who  was  at  once  too  unconcerned  and  too  lazy 
not  to  keep  his  place  on  the  box,  no  doubt  suspected  the 
reason  of  their  promenade,  and  despised  them  accordingly; 


TO  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES 


205 

but  not  so  the  gray  vetturino,  who  knew  the  Pass  too  well  to 
wonder  at  any  effect  that  it  could  produce  on  unaccustomed 
human  nerves. 

They  got  on,  exceedingly  well,  on  foot,  keeping  close,  most 
of  the  time,  to  the  inner  side  of  the  splendid  road,  and  only 
occasionally  meddling  with  the  outer  edge  for  a  moment¬ 
ary  peep,  from  which  they  generally  went  back,  with  alacrity, 
until  they  could  touch  the  back  wall.  Once,  when  there  was 
a  placard  announcing  that  the  best  view  of  the  Fall  of  the 
Madesimo  could  be  obtained  by  going  out  on  a  railed  platform 
— they  tried  it :  not  with  distinguished  success.  For  though 
the  broad  white  fall  leaping  a  thousand  feet  into  the  air,  and 
into  yet  whiter  spray,  was  glorious  beyond  description,  the 
eye  would  take  too  much  cognizance  of  the  gulf  below,  for 
entire  comfort.  And  once  they  made  an  excursion  into  a  hay- 
field,  among  the  sbort-pet'dcoated  female  hay-makers  and  their 
few  male  asssistants,  in  “  crossing  lots  ”  to  cut  off  the  carriage  ; 
but  they  found  themselves  apparently  sliding  down  the  sharp 
slope  into  the  Gulf  itself,  and  so  abandoned  the  trespass, 
not  because  it  was  unlawful  but  unprofitable. 

The  effort  has  before  been  made  to  explain,  in  a  few  words, 
the  meaning  of  the  “  zig-zag  "  as  applied  to  these  mountain 
roads.  The  descent  of  theCardinell  Pass,  though  necessarily 
involving  the  zig-zag,  adds  to  it  that  other  feature,  the  “  gal¬ 
lery  ” — a  portion  of  the  road  covered  and  vaulted  with  stone 
and  wood,  sometimes  extending  hundreds  of  feet  over  what 
are  believed  to  be  the  worst  points  for  snow-slides  :  a  long  one, 
omitted  in  mention,  having  been  passed  through,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain,  just  before  reaching  the  summit;  and 
three  of  them,  in  this  descent,  being  among  the  longest  in  the 
Alps,  750,  700  and  1,600  feet.  And  the  zig-zags  themselves, 
here,  are  very  different  from  those  on  the  side-slope  of  a 
gradual  mountain.  They  are  literally  and  exactly  so  many 
diagonal  notches  cut  into  the  side  of  an  upright  post,  the  ends 
intersecting  as  they  turn,  and  the  traveller  continually  look¬ 
ing  up  to  see  the  road  above  him  that  he  has  just  traversed  or 
down  to  see  that  to  which  he  is  coming,  perpendicularly  below. 


20(3 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


What  must  be  the  rate  of  descent  of  this  gorge,  may  De  in¬ 
ferred  from  the  fact  that  not  less  than  3,000  feet  are  descended, 
on  the  side  of  that  single  mountain  bulwark,  by  one  zig-zag 
precisely  under  another,  without  the  progress  forward  being 
more  than  an  hundred  or  two  of  yards.  Again  and  again  and 
again  they  looked  up,  that  da3',  to  see  one  passed  line  of  road 
above  them,  then  two,  then  three,  and  so  on  until  the  layers 
one  above  another  must  have  reached  nearly  or  quite  a  score. 
And  what,  then,  must  have  been  the  height  over  the  gulf 
below,  of  the  road  upon  which  they  first  came  out  before 
commencing  the  sharp  descent?  And  what  must  have  been 
the  irreverence  of  the  wretch  who  could  goto  the  verge,  look 
calmly  down,  and  propound  the  lately  current  query  :  “IIow 
is  this  for  high  ?  ” 

They  were  virtually  at  the  bottom,  at  last,  having  performed 
about  seven  miles  walking  in  this  second  essay,  when  they 
rejoined  the  carriage,  not  to  leave  it  again  until  the  end  of 
that  day’s  journey.  They  were  on  the  sunny'  side  of  the 
mountains  now,  amid  the  broad  chesnuts,  the  olive  groves  and 
vineyards;  amid  yet  fearfully  rough  and  broken  countiy,  true, 
and  with  the  splendid  stone-posted  road  (far  better  engineered 
on  the  Italian  side  than  on  the  Swiss)  running  frequently  along 
embankments  and  precipices  that  at  some  other  time  would 
have  seemed  tremendous.  But  an  hundred  or  two  feet  were 
nothing  now,  after  thousands;  and  they  were  in  the  midst  of 
Italian  scenery  ;  Italian  frescoed  and  inscriptioned  houses,  yel¬ 
low  and  sun-baked  ;  Italian  chapels,  sometimes  with  open- 
grated  doors  showing  rows  of  skulls  grinning  pleasantl\r 
within  ;  Italian  girls,  dark  eyed,  abundantly  dark  haired,  well 
formed,  barefoot,  comely  and  dirty ;  Italian  priests,  shovel- 
hatted,  oily-faced,  shoe-buckled,  and  going  about  in  droves; 
Italian  beggars,  piteous  in  their  looks,  and  more  piteous  in 
their  pleading  whines  ;  Italian  air,  balmy  and  pleasant,  even 
in  its  July  heat ;  and  Italian  gad-flies  covering  the  poor  horses 
with  blood  and  biting  through  clothes  to  the  bone.  So  they 
bowled  along,  still  downward  to  the  sweet  fields  and  meadows 
bounding  Campo  Dolcino  with  the  beautiful  name  ;  and  then 


TO  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES. 


207 


they  were  at  gray,  dirty,  characteristic  Chiavenna  for  the 
night,  to  go  on  to  Colico,  on  Lake  Como,  in  an  hour  or  two  of 
the  next  morning;  and  they  had  “drifted”  across  the  Alps  to 
Italy. 

Taurus,  whom  the  Governor  last  saw  at  Milan,  trying  to 
find  a  decent  glass  of  Italian  beer  (which  he  called  “  bc-ah  ”) — 
Taurus,  if  any  reader  should  meet  him,  would  never  own  to 
so  much  as  has  here  been  acknowledged,  of  the  nervous 
sensations  of  that  ride,  or  admit  that  he  was  at  all  instru¬ 
mental  in  carrying  the  Governor  over.  But  he  would  say, 
without  a  question,  that  the  two  days  of  crossing  were  among 
the  most  notable  in  memory,  and  that  he  would  like  to  repeat 
their  experience,  with  pleasant  friends,  more  than  once,  before 
he  ceases  earthly  travelling  and  goes  on  his  last  journey. 

They  went  on,  as  already  noted  (necessarily  before  that  last 
meeting),  from  Chiavenna  to  Colico,  on  Lake  Como,  on  the 
day  following  their  arrival  at  the  former  place — to  find,  at 
Colico,  that  for  once  romance  and  poetry  had  not  overstated 
the  glorious  beauty  of  the  little  watery  gem  of  North  Italy, 
lying  embowered  in  mountains  and  embroidered  at  the  edges 
with  groves  so  sweet  as  to  deserve  all  that  Rogers  and  his 
brother  poets  have  said  of  them.  To  find,  also  (very  plea¬ 
santly),  that  at  Colico  a  hatfull  of  fine  fruit  costs  about  an 
English  sixpence,  or  ten  cents  American,  while  a  small  cart 
may  be  loaded  for  an  American  dollar  in  gold.  But  it  was  on 
the  way  to  Colico,  and  when  as  yet  the  price  of  fruit  had  not 
entered  into  their  mercanto-gastronomic  souls,  that  they  met 
with  a  little  adventure  which  the  Englishman  would  be  slow 
to  recount  in  any  circle  of  his  home  companions,  but  which 
the  Governor  does  not  intend  to  conceal,  for  various  reasons 
not  necessary  to  be  noted.  They  met  and  fell  in  love  with  a 
Nymph  of  the  Fountain,  probably  never  yet  embalmed  in 
song.  That  is,  the  Governor  fell  in  love  with  her ;  and 
Taurus  would  have  done  so,  but  for  the  fact  that  any  such 
proceeding  must  have  been  “  un-English.”  At  one  of  those 
common  but  picturesque  old  fountains  spouting  water  into  a 
stone  trough  from  a  queer  sculptured  mouth,  which  may  be 


208 


O  VER  HA  LF-E  UROPE. 


met  with  so  often  in  Southern  Europe,  and  this  one  standing 
not  far  from  the  edge  of  the  first  of  the  Italian  lake-chain, 
Lago  de  Riva, — there  they  met  this  female  incarnation  of  all 
the  Latin  races,  and  experienced  those  sensations  proper  for 
each  under  such  circumstances. 

The  morning  was  hot,  and  they  drew  up  at  the  fountain  for 
a  drink.  It  was  only  when  the  carriage  halted  immediately 
in  front  of  the  spout,  that  the  two  travellers  became  aware  of 
the  presence  of  a  woman,  and  a  basket  of  clothes  which  she 
was  engaged  in  washing  in  the  broad  basin  of  the  fountain. 
She  may  have  been  of  any  age  between  eighteen  and  twenty- 
five  ;  and  she  was  dark-skinned,  red-lipped,  plump-formed, 
wavy-haired,  and  (as  Taurus  said)  deusedly  handsome.  She 
looked  cupid's  darts  from  under  her  long  lashes.  Taurus 
frowned,  then  relaxed  into  a  smile  of  admiration.  The  Gov¬ 
ernor  smiled  from  the  first.  Any  extended  conversation  was 
rendered,  to  say  the  least,  inconvenient,  from  the  fact  that  all 
English  existed  on  the  one  side  and  all  Italian  on  the  other. 
So  the  cyprian  duel  was  confined  to  what  Milton  calls  “  nods 
and  becks  and  wreathed  smiles.” 

“  By  Jove  !”  exclaimed  Taurus,  speaking  low,  so  that  the 
Junior  would  not  be  likely  to  hear  him,  “  if  that  girl  was  not 
a  washerwoman,  she  would  be  actually  lovely.” 

“  By  Bacchus  !"  said  the  Governor,  perhaps  the  more  easily 
pleased  of  the  two,  “  she  is  lovely,  whether  washerwoman  or 
empress.” 

“  Faugh  !”  answered  Taurus,  “what  romance  can  there  be, 
connected  with  a  dabbler  in  washing-troughs  and  a  wringer  of 
foul  stockings  !” 

“  Just  as  much,  if  one  only  took  the  pains  to  extract  it,  in 
the  washerwoman  as  the  empress,”  responded  the  Governor, 

“  I  should  like  to  sec  some  one  try  it,  then  !”  said  Taurus, 
with  something  approaching  to  a  sneer. 

“  And  I  shouldn't  mind  being  the  one  you  set  at  the  job,” 
responded  the  Governor,  with  a  laugh.  “  Stop — now  that  I 
think  of  it,  and  as  we  cannot  court  her  conveniently  in  any 
other  way,  suppose  that  we  do  it  in  rhyme." 


TO  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES. 


209 


“  You  may,  if  you  like  !  /  never  scribble  !"  loftily  said 

Taurus,  thus  putting  the  scribbler  out  of  the  pale  of  society 
at  once. 

“  By  George,  I  will!"  replied  the  Governor,  with  a  certain 
amiable  fierceness,  his  notebook  and  pencil  coming  out  of  his 
pocket  at  the  same  moment.  And  he  kept  his  word— after  a 
sort.  As  the  carriage  rolled  away  from  the  fountain,  and  they 
caught  the  last  glimpse  of  the  dusky  nymph  who  graced  it, 
he  had  the  notebook  on  his  knee  and  was  scribbling  away. 
And  this  is  what  he  afterward  showed  to  Taurus — causing  that 
person  to  grin  with  some  one  of  two  or  three  emotions — 
under  the  title  of 

LOVELY  SOAPSUDS  ;  OR,  THE  LAV ANDIERE  OF  LAGO 
DI  RIVA. 

Oh,  lavandiere,  pretty  lavandiere ! 

Washing  clothes  at  the  Lago  di  Riva’s  fountain, 

And  making  me  lose,  with  your  face  so  fair, 

The  mem’ry  of  Alpine  glen  and  mountain  ; 

No  Egeria  you,  by  the  fountain's  brim, 

But  something  to  buy  her,  over  and  over — 

One  who  would  not  fly,  but  wait  for  him, 

Her  rash  and  romantic  and  doting  lover. 

Oh,  lavandiere,  lovely  lavendiere  ! 

How  I  bless  that  person,  thoughtfully  human, 

Who  gave  you  a  name  so  sweetly  rare, 

And  kept  me  from  calling  you  “washerwoman!” 

For  to  one  I  can  bow  with  devotion  true, 

While  the  other  conveys  wet  rags  of  lmen  ; 

And  it  wouldn’t  do — no,  it  wouldn't  do, 

For  love  in  the  kitchen  to  make  a  beginnin'. 

Oh,  lavandiere,  charming  lavandiere  ! 

You  can  talk  no  English,  I  no  Italian  ; 

So  we  neither  will  ever  end  this  affair, 

As  we  might  if  you  understood  this  rallyin'. 

But  you  wring  my  heart,  as  you  wring  that  shirt  ; 

And  a  suicide’s  might  be  my  demeanor, 

Thus  cooling  love’s  thirst  and  healing  love’s  hurt, 

If  that  fountain  was  somewhat  deeper  and  cleaner  ! 


LITTLE  COMO  AND  LARGER  MAGGIORE. 

The  Governor  reached  the  Lake  of  Como,  as  already  known, 
at  Colico,  from  Chiavenna,  at  the  Italian  end  of  the  Splugen 
route  proper.  It  has  otherwise  been  detailed,  how  sharply  the 
flies  bit,  along  the  way  from  Chiavenna  to  Colico,  by  Lago  di 
Riva,  and  how  a  nymph  of  the  fountain,  engaged  in  lavatory 
pursuits,  captured  the  heart  of  the  impressible  traveller  and 
drove  him  to  the  contemplation  (luckily  very  far  off)  of  a  damp 
suicide.  Need  it  be  said  that  the  person  of  that  temperament 
came  to  the  Italian  lakes  in  a  very  susceptible  condition — 
ready  to  fall  under  any  influence  attractively  presented,  and 
to  go  mad  over  any  place  known  to  have  been  embalmed 
habitually  in  poetry  and  romance. 

Such  advantages  has  Lago  di  Como,  beyond  a  question. 
One  comes  to  it  generally  fresh  from  the  wild  passes  of  the 
Alps,  when  renewed  softened  scenes  and  softening  influences 
seem  very  welcome,  and  finds  it  literally  lying  under  the  brows 
of  the  great  mountains,  to  some  extent  realizing  the  descrip¬ 
tion  given  in  a  few  words  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva — of  the 
parent  mountains  guarding  their  child  : 

“  On  one  hand  the  mother,  tender-eyed, 

On  the  other  the  father,  high  in  pride, 

O’er  their  blue-eyed  darling  stooping.” 

Buhver,  in  the  “  Lady  of  Lyons,”  touched  very  prettily  on 
some  of  the  peculiarities  of  any  one  of  the  North  Italian  lakes, 
but  his  language  has  been  held  to  be  more  peculiarly  applica¬ 
ble  to  Como  than  any  of  the  others.  At  the  risk  of  offending 
Ihe  digestion  of  some  one  already  crammed  with  that  once- 
overpraised  and  now  underrated  play,  a  few  of  the  lines  most 
obviously  referring  to  it  may  be  quoted  ;  though,  of  course, 
they  refer  much  more  especially  to  the ,  abode  which  Claude 
Melnotte  wished  that  he  had,  and  to  some  of  the  other  sur- 


COMO  AND  MAGGIORE. 


211 


roundings,  than  to  the  lake  itself.  The  lines  have  very 
markedly  the  atmosphere  of  the  region,  and  that  must  suffice. 
Says  the  enamored  swain: 

“  In  a  deep  vale 

Shut  in  by  Alpine  hills  from  the  rude  world, 

Near  a  clear  lake,  margined  by  fruits  of  gold 
And  whispering  myrtles,  glassing  softest  skies, 

As  cloudless,  save  with  rare  and  roseate  shadows. 

As  I  would  have  thy  fate.  *  *  * 

A  palace  lifting  to  eternal  summer 
Its  marble  walls,  from  out  a  tropic  grove 
Whose  every  bough  was  musical  with  birds 
That  in  their  songs  should  syllable  thy  name. 

*  *  *  And  when  night  came,  we’d  sit 

Beneath  the  breathless  heavens,  and  think  what  star 
Should  be  our  home  when  love  becomes  immortal.” 

Surely  the  hand  that  wrote  this  must  have  been  guided  by 
intimate  knowledge  of  scenery  and  surroundings  like  those 
of  Como,  if  not  of  it.  But  Tasso,  shaping  that  glorious  “Je¬ 
rusalem  Delivered  ”  which  the  present  age  seems  to  have 
nearly  forgotten,  perhaps  more  nearly  breathed  the  very  feel¬ 
ing  and  sentiment  of  the  region,  in  the  environments  of 
Armida’s  Palace.  In  the  Wiffen  translation,  that  poem  reads  : 

- “When  at  length  the  steep  acclivity 

Is  scaled,  and  passed  the  snows  and  breezes  keen, 

Beneath  the  sunshine  of  a  summer  sky 

They  found  an  even,  smooth  and  spacious  green. 

Here  in  a  clime  delightfully  serene. 

His  wings  the  everlasting  zephyr  shakes, 

And  breathes  a  ceaseless  sweetness  o’er  the  scene.  *  * 

- Heaven,  than  whitest  crystal  e’en  more  clear, 

Nursing  to  fields  their  herbs,  to  herbs  their  flowers, 

To  flowers  their  smell,  to  leaves  th’  immortal  trees. 

Here,  by  its  lake,  the  splendid  palace  towers 

On  marble  columns  rich  with  golden  frieze.”  *  * 

‘  This  is  the  haven  of  the  world  ;  here  Rest 

Dwells  with  Composure,  and  that  perfect  bliss 
Which  in  the  Golden  Age  found  men  possessed 
In  liberty  and  love  unknown  to  this.  *  * 

The  joyful  bii'ds  sing  sweet  in  the  green  bowers  ; 

Murmur  the  winds,  and  in  their  fall  and  rise 
Strike  from  the  fruits,  leaves,  fountains,  brooks  and  flowers, 

A  thousand  strange  celestial  harmonies.” 


15 


212 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


All  this  is  no  description  :  no  one  can  be  better  aware  of  the,, 
fact  than  the  writer-copyist.  But,  indefinably,  it  is  full  of  the 
feeling  of  the  region  ;  and  in  reading  it  one  cannot  but  be 
impressed  with  the  belief  that  the  poet  had  in  his  mind  this 
marvellous  little  region,  equally  uniting  and  dividing  the 
rough  glories  of  Switzerland  and  the  soft  beauties  of  Italy, 
But  perhaps  we  have  had  enough  of  poetry,  and  may  well 
descend  to  the  descriptively  prosaic,  however  hopeless  the 
task  involved. 

In  those  prosaic  words,  then,  Como  is  a  lake  of  some  thirty- 
six  miles  in  length,  by  an  average  of  only  three  in  width.  It 
is  one  of  an  actual  group,  of  which  the  members  are  Como, 
Lecco,  Lugano  and  Maggiore,  with  a  fifth,  the  very  little 
Varese,  and  the  infinitesimal  Pusiano,  Annon,  Coniabbio,  &c., 
apparently  thrown  in  for  what  the  farmers  Call  “  tally.”  Como 
and  Lecco  are  really  one,  the  main  body  of  the  former  com¬ 
mencing  at  the  north,  at  near  Como,  extending  almost  directly 
southward  to  Belaggio,  where  it  divides,  the  main  branch  curv¬ 
ing  westward,  being  still  Como,  and  the  minor,  curving  east¬ 
ward,  becoming  Lecco.  Lugano  lies  a  few  miles  to  the  west¬ 
ward,  very  near  the  point  of  Como’s  forking;  and  Maggiore 
runs  nearly  northward  and  southward,  a  few  miles  still  farther 
westward,  from  above  the  upper  end  of  Como,  some  distance 
below  the  lower.  There  are  no  absolute  mountains  very  near 
to  Como,  though  a  wide  range  of  the  Swiss  giants  are  in  full 
view  from  all  the  upper  part  of  it;  but  for  three-fourths 
of  its  distance  it  is  surrounded  by  hills,  sloping  upward  from 
the  almost  always  blue  water,  green  at  every  point,  wooded  in 
many  places,  and  with  exquisite  shrubbery  almost  continuous. 
There  is  literally  no  language  to  describe  the  appearance  of 
some  of  the  swelling  banks,  of  which  the  verdure  is  so  soft 
and  fine  as  to  make  them  appear  perfect  rolls  of  green  velvet, 
while  the  thought  at  times  suggests  itself  of  snow  wreaths 
colored  vivid  emerald,  with  the  sparkle  of  the  crystals  yet 
remaining ;  and,  in  this  semi-tropical  atmosphere,  it  goes 
without  saying,  that  the  foliage  of  tree  and  shrub  appeal  to 
the  eye  with  equal  luxuriance  and  softness.  Meanwhile,  and 


COMO  AND  MAOOTORE. 


213 


to  complete  the  picture,- — Tor  centuries  wealth  and  taste  have 
been  gemming  the  banks,  above  and  below,  with  abodes  of 
beauty  and  luxury,  very  much  less  than  the  average  of  ugli¬ 
ness  coming  in  occasionally  to  temper  the  whole. 

Probably  the  loveliest  point  on  the  whole  lake  is  Belaggio, 
at  the  divergence  of  Lecco,  the  little  town  having  literally  a 
sharp  cape  on  which  to  nestle,  with  water  on  both  sides. 
Menaggio,  on  the  western  side,  a  little  above  the  separation  of 
the  two  lakes,  is  also  beautifully  situated,  as  well  as  the  point 
of  departure,  by  omnibuses,  the  short  drive  to  Porlezzo  on 
Lake  Lugano.  Como,  lying  near  the  extreme  upper  end  (on 
the  route  to  or  from  Milan),  is  a  pretty  town  and  has  a  cathe¬ 
dral  of  great  size  and  splendor.  Cadenabbia  lies  on  the  west 
shore  of  the  main  lake,  only  a  little  above  Belaggio,  and  is 
also  pleasant  and  popular  as  a  residence.  Between  all  these 
main  points,  and  many  others,  steamers  ply  several  times  a 
day,  with  the  advantage  that  nearly  all  summer  long  the 
weather  is  fine  and  the  water  calm  ;  and  omnibus  and  railway 
connection  is  easy  to  and  from  Milan,  Lago  Maggiore,  and 
many  other  places  of  interest. 

Out-door  life  in  the  summer  is  even  more  universal  along 
the  banks  of  Como  than  in  all  the  cities  from  Paris  south¬ 
ward.  Everybody  seems  to  be  out-of-doors,  and  to  be  liter¬ 
ally  living  there.  At  Como,  especially,  rows  of  covered 
booths  and  tents  stud  the  edges  of  the  stream,  with  figures  in 
all  the  colors  of  the  south  appealing  to  the  passing  eye,  as 
they  flit  hither  and  thither ;  and  washerwomen,  many  of 
them  with  the  picturesque  striped  flat  headdresses  lying  over 
the  head  and  drooping  behind,  make  the  scene  doubly  lively 
with  their  motions  and  the  white  gleam  of  the  clothes  they 
are  washing  or  spreading  in  rows  on  the  green  velvet.  Add 
to  this,  the  boats  of  the  lake,  which  are  black,  very  much 
curved,  and  flaring,  with  the  sails  a  sort  of  square  lateen, 
some  cross  or  bar  of  black  always  relieving  the  white  canvas 
at  near  the  yard,  and  with  the  boatmen  often  Greek-capped 
in  colors,  and  nearly  every  boat  filled  (especially  at  late  after¬ 
noon  and  evening)  with  those  who  seem  to  have  nothing  else 


214 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


to  do  than  to  seek  lazy  or  mad  enjoyment.  So  much  said, 
though  probably  little  or  nothing  may  have  been  conveyed  ; 
all  the  story  of  Como  has  been  told,  as  the  Governor’s  eyes 
saw  it  once  and  again,  and  as  he  imbibed  the  atmosphere  of 
the  region,  its  idleness  included.  There  are  at  various  points 
along  the  lake  the  evidences  of  royalties  and  nobilities,  who 
flee  hither  at  intervals  to  escape  the  noise  and  bother  of 
courts  ;  but  the  Governor  does  not  own  any  villa  on  Como, 
and  so  he  indignantly  declines  to  name  any  one  of  them  ! 

Milan  may  be  reached  from  Como  by  Camerlata  and  an 
omnibus  ;  and  thence  there  is  rail  to  Arona,  on  Lago  Maggiore  ; 
or,  diligence  may  be  taken  direct  from  Como  (town)  to  Lav- 
erno  on  Maggiore,  with  some  thirty  miles  of  ride  worth  the 
taking.  The  Governor  went  to  Maggiore  by  the  first-named 
route,  from  Milan,  and  thus  accidently  enjoyed  the  temporary 
company  of  the  Major  and  the  Doctor,  members  of  an  English 
line  regiment,  who  were  making  for  the  Alps  by  the  Simplon 
road  that  afternoon. 

Much  lower-banked  than  Como,  and  somewhat  larger 
(forty-five  miles  in  length  by  about  three  in  breadth),  Lago 
Maggiore  has  many  features  in  common  with  its  smaller  sister. 
There  is  no  view  from  any  one  point  of  Como  comparable 
with  that  which  the  Governor  reyelled  in  for  an  hour  from 
near  Somma,  of  the  Monte  Rosa  range  and  the  monarch 
mountain  itself,  snow-crowned,  dark-ravined,  near  in  great  dis¬ 
tance,  and  altogether  overwhelmingly  grand  and  commanding. 
And  there  is  a  double  row  of  lime-trees  shading  an  esplanade 
just  without  the  town  of  Arona,  supplying  the  very  finest 
promenade,  at  the  very  edge  of  the  blue  water,  to  be  found  in 
all  Italy, — with  the  boats  of  Maggiore  very  like  those  of 
Como,  only  more  numerous,  larger  (possibly  a  trifle  more  un¬ 
cleanly)  and  all  of  them  awninged  with  striped  cloth  against 
the  sun  which  seems  to  be  much  hotter  on  the  larger  lake  than 
the  smaller.  A  splendid  promenade,  truly,  with  every  sense 
fed  and  delighted.  Then  there  is  also  a  view  from  Arona  and 
its  neighborhood,  of  the  colossal  bronze  statue  of  San  Carlo 
Borromeo,  standing  on  a  hill  at  a  little  distance  and  impress- 


COMO  AND  MAO G TORE. 


215 


ively  stretching  out  in  blessing  the  arm  belonging  to  a  height 
of  sixty  feet — still  no  more  commanding  than  the  memory  of 
the  truly  good  man,  priest  and  prince  in  one,  whom  it  com¬ 
memorates. 

The  virtual  foot  of  the  lake  had  been  crossed  at  Sesto  Cal- 
ende,  on  the  way  from  Milan  ;  and  Arona  and  the  other  points 
just  named  lie  also  very  near  the  southern  end,  with  Angera, 
another  town  of  importance  on  the  eastern  side,  nearly  oppo¬ 
site  Arona  on  the  left.  Ascending  northward  from  Arona,  the 
shores  of  the  lake  are  seen  (as  already  said)  to  be  much  lower 
than  those  of  Como  ;  and  they  are  less  beautiful  as  an  average 
line.  Both  sides  are  studded  with  towns,  not  many  of  them 
of  interest,  though  all  favorite  resorts  for  loungers.  The  halt 
of  importance,  and  the  one  made  by  the  Governor  and  his 
friends,  was  at  little  Stresa,  on  the  left,  one-third  of  the  way 
up,  and  opposite  the  islands  that  have  acquired  such  celebrity 
Across  a  wide  bay  putting  in  at  the  left,  was  Pallanza,  one  of 
the  most  important  towns  on  the  lake  ;  behind  it  rising  Intra, 
and  behind  that,  mountains  worthy  of  the  name,  though  only 
far-off  spurs  of  the  great  chain  stretching  away  northwest¬ 
ward. 

In  front  of  them  and  of  the  town,  however,  were  the  special 
objects  for  which  they  had  left  the  steamer  from  Arona  at 
Stresa.  The  Borromean  Islands — Isoli  Bella  Pescatori,  Madre 
and  San  Giovanna — possibly  others  ;  only  these  were  the  ones 
taken  in  by  the  delighted  eye.  There  was  but  one  to  be  vis¬ 
ited — Isola  Bella,  considered,  world  over,  the  most  lovely  of  all 
islands,  and  so  named  as  “  Beautiful  Island.”  From  Stresa, 
Isola  Bella  lay  nearest  and  nearly  direct ;  Isola  Madre  farther 
ahead  and  to  the  right ;  Isola  Pescatori  partially  hidden  be¬ 
hind  Isola  Bella  ;  and  behind  them  the  mountains  already 
named.  But  farther  to  the  left,  the  more  distant  mountains 
arose,  snow-crowned  ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  view  up  them 
to  Dorno  d’Orsola,  and  so  into  the  pass  of  the  Simplon. 

A  shabby  old  and  not  very  cleanly  black  flaring  boat,  a 
cross  between  a  skiff  and  a  canoe,  took  off  the  party  to  Isola 
Bella.  It  had  bow  tops,  like  those  of  a  farmer’s  wagon,  but 


216 


0  VER  II A  LF-E  TJR  OPE. 


the  awning  had  been  forgotten  or  was  being  washed,  so  that 
the  voyagers  had  the  full  benefit  of  a  sun  inclining  toward 
noon — hot,  yet  indefinably  pleasant.  And  then  they  were 
ashore  at  Isola  Bella,  in  a  blazing  heat  that  was  not  pleasant, 
the  coolness  of  the  lake  water  wanting.  But  it  was  not  far  to 
the  well  managed  Hotel  del  Delfino  (Dauphin),  kept  on 
grounds  leased  for  that  purpose  by  Prince  Borromeo,  owner  of 
the  island, — and  to  a  lunch,  there,  in  which  the  Doctor  and 
the  Major,  old  Alpine  climbers,  who  were  going  on  that  after¬ 
noon  up  the  Simplon  road,  ate  so  many  omelettes  aitx  sucre  (to 
the  deprivation  of  the  abstemious  Governor)  that  there  seemed 
small  probability  of  their  ever  being  able  to  climb  again 
during  their  natural  lives — and  in  which  they  drank  so  much 
of  the  pleasant  light  Italian  wines,  that  each  might  have  set 
up  in  business  as  a  huge  bottle. 

Then  to  the  Palace  of  Prince  Borromeo,  on  the  south  end 
of  the  little  island,  and  through  the  cool,  picture-hung  and 
mosaic-paved  halls  of  that  fine  old  residence,  cordially  shown, 
as  became  the  descendant  of  good  Saint  Charles.  Some  of  the 
pictures  and  statuary  were  very  fine;  and  the  quarterings  of 
arms  of  a  family  dating  back  very  nearly  to  Attila,  were  some¬ 
thing  bewildering  in  the  multiplicity  of  papal  crowns,  balls, 
bees,  lions,  eagles,  &c.,  borne  on  the  different  shields  so  plenti¬ 
fully  hung  amid  the  other  treasures.  But  how  cool  and  breezy 
were  those  halls,  even  in  the  heat ;  and  how  truly  the  island 
seemed  to  deserve  its  name,  gazed  out  upon  from  those  ter¬ 
races  fashioned  by  the  hands  of  skill  for  the  luxury  of  taste 
and  liberality  !  Prince  Borromeo,  however  often  changed  and 
renewed,  is  splendidly  quartered  on  Isola  Bella ;  and  long 
may  the  descendants  of  a  noble  race  keep  the  inheritance  ! 

There  is  nothing  outside  the  tropics  to  compare  with  the 
gardens  of  this  Palace,  where  the  visitors  walked  through 
groves  that  might  have  belonged  to  Cuba  or  Brazil — where 
there  were  growing,  all  around  them,  oleanders,  lemon  trees, 
bamboos,  banana  palms,  tea,  coffee  and  camphor  trees,  each 
with  the  fruit  appropriate  to  it  ripening  in  the  kindly  Italian 
sun, — and  where  the  harmless  little  lizards  of  the  veritable 


COMO  AND  MAOOIORE. 


217 


tropics  were  gliding  in  and  out  through  the  trees,  the  shrub¬ 
bery,  and  the  multitude  of  marble  and  stone  statues  making 
such  white  and  brown  glory  among  the  greenery.  Yes,  as 
already  said,  Prince  Borromeo  is  nobly  lodged  :  he  is  more 
than  nobly  gardened,  as  only  wealth  and  liberality  can  hope 
to  be  in  this  costly  and  exigeant  world. 

But  the  hour  of  parting,  of  sudden  friends  as  well  as  from 
the  glories  of  the  spot,  came  all  too  soon.  One  more  bottle 
of  the  Asti  Spumenti,  at  the  Hotel  Delfino  ;  yea,  two — and  then 
the  Doctor  and  the  Major  were  crossing  the  lake  to  Pallanza, 
for  their  run  toward  the  Simplon ;  and  the  Governor  was 
going  back  in  his  dirty  black  boat,  studying  the  scenery  of 
the  noble  and  beautiful  lake  lovingly  all  the  while,  and  won¬ 
dering  when  he  might  ever  again  have  the  privilege  of  dip 
ping  his  hot  hand  in  the  lapping  blue-green  water, — going 
back  to  Stresa,  and  to  the  good  steamer  Lucmagno,  for  Milan 
and  cities  adjacent. 


FOUR  MARVELS  OF  MILAN. 

The  city  of  Milan  is  really  one  of  the  handsomest  in  Europe, 
alike  from  its  location,  the  freshness  of  its  construction,  and 
some  peculiarities  which  put  it  at  advantage  by  merely  adding 
to  the  aggregate  amount  of  charm.  It  is  perhaps  all  the  bet¬ 
ter  in  appearance  to  day,  from  the  fact  that  the  Emperor  Fred¬ 
eric  Barbarossa,  carrying  on  his  little  dispute  with  the  Pope, 
which  eventually  cost  him  crown  and  life  in  a  useless  crusade, 
literally  destroyed  it — wiped  it  off  from  the  face  of  the  penin¬ 
sula.  Rebuildings  are  profitable  to  appearance,  even  if  costly 
as  amusements  ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  many  an 
old  corner  which,  without  that  clearing  away  in  1162,  would 
have  to-day  the  musty  odor  of  the  times  of  the  Caesars,  really 
enjoys  sunlight  and  appeals  pleasantly  to  all  the  senses.  There 
is  an  “  old  town,”  of  course,  with  narrow  and  winding 
streets,  intersected  and  surrounded  by  canals,  and  with  quite 
enough  ot  the  picturesque  quality  and  odor  of  antiquity  ;  but 
there  is  a  “new  town  ”  as  well  ;  and  that  new  town  has  much 
of  the  lightness  and  grace  of  Munich,  while  the  North  Italian 
air  gives  it  incomparable  advantages  in  aspect  over  the  capital 
of  Bavaria,  as  well  as  many  of  the  more  southerly  cities  of 
Italy. 

The  city  has  had,  in  the  past  ages,  what  may  be  called  a 
“  lively  time,”  politically  ;  and  possibly  its  changes  from  the 
dominion  of  one  to  that  of  another  inajr  have  produced  some¬ 
thing  of  the  effect  of  intermarriage  in  races — strengthened  and 
freshened  it.  Cremona,  Brescia,  Bergamo  and  Mantua,  each 
infinitely  smaller  than  Barbarossa’s  victim,  united  in  rebuild¬ 
ing  it  when  he  left  it  a  ruin.  Then  the  Sforzas,  who  came 
themselves  from  nothing  and  took  their  name  from  the  “force” 
they  displayed  in  helping  themselves  to  place  and  power,  fol¬ 
lowed  as  rulers  the  ducal  Viscontis,  and  totally  eclipsed  them 
in  the  splendor  of  their  personal  surroundings  and  of  the  city 
which  they  ruled.  Then,  through  the  Austrian  connection,  it 


MILAN  MARVELS. 


219 


fell  for  a  time  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  so  often  and 
long  predominant  in  various  parts  of  Italy  ;  then  into  those 
of  Austria  itself.  It  became  the  capital  of  the  Cisalpine  Re¬ 
public  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  when  the  French 
Republicans,  and  Napoleon  after,  ^vere  arranging  affairs  gener¬ 
ally  at  their  will.  Then,  for  a  time  it  was  the  capital  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Italy,  falling  back,  after  1815,  into  the  hands  of  the 
Austrians,  who  finally,  in  1859,  surrendered  it  into  those  of 
Victor  Emmanuel,  the  Re  Galantuomo,  and  to  incorporation  as 
a  part  of  United  Italy. 

All  this,  merely  to  show  that  the  “  Milano  ”  of  the  sweet- 
tongued  Italian  has  passed  through  enough  of  changes  to 
indicate  stability  at  the  last,  and  that  possibly  its  physical 
appearance  is  all  the  more  pleasing  for  the  very  misfortunes 
through  which  it  has  passed — because  those  misfortunes  nec¬ 
essarily  brought  changes,  and  change  is  always  better  than 
stagnation,  however  romantic.  The  title  of  this  brief  paper 
promises  four  marvels  ;  and  they  will  be  found  as  unlike  each 
other  as  possible. 

Marvel  the  First.— The  Duomo,  or  Cathedral.  This  is  re¬ 
garded  by  the  Milanese  as  the  “  eighth  wonder  of  the  world  ” 
(whatever  that  may  mean  in  the  present  century  of  wonders)  ; 
and  the  Governor  is  disposed  to  join  them,  or  to  go  beyond 
them,  in  pronouncing  it  the  very  finest  religious  house  on  earth. 
So  it  ought  to  be,  possibly,  with  the  five  hundred  years  of  its 
progress  from  a  wondrous  thought  to  a  more  wondrous  real¬ 
ity — and  with  the  one  hundred  and  forty  million  dollars  already 
said  to  have  been  expended  on  it,  in  a  country  where  materials 
and  labor  are  both  so  cheap  as  in  Italy.  One  hundred  and  forty 
millions  of  dollars  ! — think  of  the  sum,  considerable  even  in  a 
land  where  county  court  houses  and  suspension  bridges  over 
rivers  are  erected  at  outlays  which  the  courts  consider  “  re¬ 
gardless  of  expense.” 

“  Figures,  or  if  not  figures,  then  words,  Governor,  for  the 
statement  that  the  Duomo  of  Milan  is  the  finest  religious 
house  on  earth  !”  There  are  no  figures,  and  there  may  be  dif¬ 
ficulty  in  even  finding  words.  To  what  does  the  simple  state- 


220 


OVER  II A  LF-E  UR  OPE. 


ment  amount :  that  it  is  some  500  feet  in  length  (477  feet  with¬ 
in),  with  a  breadth  of  186  feet,  a  dome  of  214  feet,  the  extreme 
height  of  the  tower  300  feet,  and  the  nave  height  158  feet? 
And  what  more  is  conveyed  by  the  additional  fact  that,  with 
the  exception  of  St.  Peter^  at  Rome  and  the  Cathedral  at 
Seville,  it  is  the  largest  church  in  Europe?  What  if  Heinrich 
Arler,  of  Gmund  (Gemund)  commenced  it  in  1386  ;  and  most 
of  it  was  finished  before  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  ;  and 
Napoleon  set  the  artisans  at  work  on  it  once  more  in  1805,  to 
go  on  to  the  crack  of  doom  in  all  probability,  if  they  are  never 
to  stop  until  its  possibilities  are  exhausted?  All  these  may 
be  true,  and  yet  Milan  Cathedral  may  remain  a  deformity. 

Ah,  there  are  a  few  figures,  at  last,  worth  the  considering. 
Say  that  the  structure  has  ninety-eight  Gothic  turrets  (really 
pinnacles);  that  every  finial  has  a  white  marble  statue  instead 
of  a  point — the  number  reaching  to  nearly  five  thousand,  all 
of  life-size  or  colossal — say  this,  and  for  the  first  time  an  im¬ 
pression  is  conveyed — an  impression  faint  and  far-off,  and 
nothing  more. 

To  what  can  it  be  compared  ?  Absolutely  to  nothing  else 
ever  built  by  the  hand  of  man.  Its  lightness  and  its  white¬ 
ness  might  suggest  the  soap-bubble,  blown  from  the  pipe  of  a 
Titan  and  not  )ret  fallen  away  ;  but  soap-bubbles  do  not  thrust 
up  spires  into  the  air,  and  the  Duomo  of  Milan  literally  “  does 
nothing  else.”  By  daylight  it  is  simply  a  wonderful  mass  of 
creamy  white  marble  spires  and  pinnacles,  elaborately  sculp¬ 
tured  and  statue-crowned,  thrust  up  into  the  atmosphere  with 
almost  the  closeness  of  the  blades  in  a  cornfield,  while  owning 
the  most  severe  law  of  architecture  by  the  outer  ones  being 
always  lower  than  and  subordinated  to  the  inner,  so  that  the 
immense  centre  height  is  naturally  and  gradually  reached  and 
no  thought  of  flatness  is  possible.  Perhaps,  of  all  the  emana¬ 
tions  of  nature,  the  idea  is  most  forcibly  conveyed  by  it,  of  the 
most  wonderful  body  of  stalagmites,  of  some  cave  of  the  giants, 
having  been  suddenly  uncovered  by  the  removal  of  the  roof, 
so  that  they  thrust  up  their  ornamented  whiteness  to  the  sky, 
with  beauty  only  matched  by  the  apparent  instability. 


MILAN  MARVELS. 


221 


This  by  daylight — the  description  possibly  conveying 
nothing,  and  yet  all  that  can  be  thrown  into  words.  By  moon¬ 
light,  and  especially  under  the  full  moon  of  North  Italy — ah, 
then  the  apparent  idea  of  the  builder  becomes  more  nearly 
evident.  The  Governor  wandered  away  to  it  from  his  hotel 
on  the  night  of  the  full  moon,  after  having  drunk  himself  half 
mad  with  its  glorious  beauty  by  daylight  ;  and  then  he  com¬ 
pleted  the  intoxication  as  never  before  at  any  point  on  earth. 
Had  those  pinnacles  seemed  almost  innumerable  during  the 
day?  Now  they  were  multiplied  quite  beyond  the  power  of 
arithmetic.  Had  they  seemed  almost  unreal  in  their  luxurious 
white  beauty  ?  Now  the  whole  structure  floated  in  an  atmos¬ 
phere  of  sublimed  ether,  the  moon  touching  here  and  glint¬ 
ing  there,  and  lovingly  bathing  and  enveloping  all,  so  that  the 
power  of  expression  was  lost  and  the  only  worship  was  silence. 
A  sunny  Italian  day  on  the  Duomo  is  something  to  be  remem¬ 
bered  all  the  more  closely  because  never  to  be  described  :  a 
cloudless  Italian  full  moon  on  it  is  a  glorification. 

The  interior  of  the  Duomo  would  be  striking,  if  it  had  no  out¬ 
side  !  It  is  bewildering  within,  as  without,  but  by  no  means  so 
impressive  and  so  almost  painfully  overwhelming.  The  mosaic 
pavement  is  a  fine  elaboration  of  lines  and  colors,  but  would 
be  more  satisfactory  if  the  bad  taste  had  not  been  exhibited 
of  painting  the  vaulted  ceilings  in  imitation  of  stone  open¬ 
work.  But  any  impression  of  littleness  in  this  obvious  blun¬ 
der  is  removed  by  one  glance  down  the  long  row  of  columns 
forming  the  support  of  the  roof— no  less  than  fifty-two — each 
fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  capital  of  each  a  colossal  statue 
of  white  marble  under  a  white  marble  canopy.  These,  and 
the  two  colossal  monoliths  of  granite  at  the  two  sides  of  the 
entrance,  quite  rebuild  the  temple  of  architectural  faith  that 
may  temporarily  have  fallen  ;  and  the  visitor,  after  seeing 
them,  may  afford  to  leave  the  Duomo  (as  the  Governor  did) 
without  embracing  the  temptation  to  ascend  to  the  top  of  the 
dome  and  see  all  Northern  Italy  and  most  of  the  snow-moun¬ 
tains  of  Switzerland. 


222 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


Marvel  the  Second.— The  Galleria  Vittorio  Emmanuelo.  To 
reach  this,  but  a  little  distance  from  the  Duomo  need  be  trav¬ 
ersed,  as  the  latter  is  approached  by  the  Corso  (literally  Ave¬ 
nue)  of  the  same  name.  This  Gallery  of  Victor  Emmanuel 
(how  melancholy  the  sound,  now,  when  he  is  laid  away  in  so 
different  a  gallery  !)  is  simply  the  most  extensive  and  splendid 
of  arcades,  with  domed  centre,  always  brilliantly  lighted  at 
night  and  then  most  frequented — surrounded  and  filled  with 
shops  and  cafes,  with  streets  and  passages  in  every  direction, 
and  as  far  beyond  the  Palais  Royal  of  Paris,  the  Arcades  of 
Brussels,  and  the  Burlington  and  other  arcades  of  London,  as 
the  just-quitted  Duomo  excels  an  ordinary  country  meeting¬ 
house.  Nowhere  else  on  earth  has  trade  such  a  resort,  with 
evening  promenade  one  of  its  great  conditions.  Shops,  pave¬ 
ment,  arrangements,  all  seem  perfect. ;  the  glare  of  lights  is 
quite  matched  by  the  flash  of  jewelry,  the  glow  of  gold  and  sil¬ 
ver  ware,  and  all  those  baits  with  which  the  daughters  of  Eve 
(ay,  and  the  sons  of  Adam)  are  said  to  be  constantly  tempted. 
The  chatter  of  tongues,  the  chink  of  the  spoons  in  the  coffee- 
cups,  the  tinkling  of  glasses,  the  steps  of  the  promenaders  on 
the  perfect  mosaic  pavement — these  are  only  a  part  of  the 
sounds  of  the  Gallery  during  the  evening  ;  and  there  are  others 
than  the  Governor  who  think  that  no  other  city  on  the  globe 
has  anything  to  be  compared  with  it,  even  as  there  was  but  one 
man  of  the  name  which  it  bears. 

There  are  drawbacks  even  to  commercial  splendor,  however. 
On  the  second  evening  of  visiting  the  Gallery,  the  Governor 
fell  into  the  company  of  a  very  pleasant  Englishman,  who  was 
not  enthusiastic  over  the  erection.  “  Yes,  fine,  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing,  you  know,”  he  answered  to  some  praises  guber- 
naturally  bestowed  upon  it.  “  But  then  it  ought  to  be — don’t 
you  understand  ?  The  blarsted  thing  has  cost  us  enough.” 
“  Us — what  do  you  mean  ?’’  was  the  very  natural  inquiry.  “Why 
us — us  English,  don’t  you  see  !  Every  confounded  bit  of  this 
was  built  with  English  money,  borrowed,  of  course,  and  with 
no  more  chance  of  ever  being  paid  back  again  than  I  have  of 
being  Pope — don’t  you  understand  ?  Sore  thing  for  us,  though 


MILAN  MARVELS 


223 


it  may  be  a  niceish  sort  of  thing  to  have  here."  The  Governo 
did  understand,  and  said  no  more  on  the  subject.  Probably 
if  the  thing  did  not  pay,  as  they  said,  and  if  his  money  had 
been  consumed  in  the  bad  investment,  he  might  have  growled 
a  la  John  Bull ;  but  as  it  was,  and  as  some  one  else,  if  any  one 
had  been  the  loser,  he  merely  said,  below  his  breath  :  “  Well, 
Milan  needed  this  Gallery.  If  it  hadn't  money  to  build  it,  it 
needed  to  get  it  somewhere.  If  the  English  had  it,  and  some 
one  else  had  not,  why  the  English  had  to  fork  over,  and  very 
properl)' — don’t  you  see  ?” 

Marvel  the  Third. — Leonardo  da  Vinci’s  “  Last  Supper.” 
This,  one  of  the  most  marvellous  pictures  that  the  world  ever 
saw,  and  the  crowning  work  of  that  master,  has  had  a  fate  sel¬ 
dom  or  never  paralleled.  Painted  originally  on  the  wall  of  the 
refectory  connected  with  the  monastery  chapel  of  Santa  Maria 
del  la  Grazia,  so  that  the  monks  could  see  the  wonderful  last 
banquet  while  at  their  own  meals, — its  location  has  changed 
in  use,  to  be  a  cavalry  barrack  ?  And  there,  in  that  atmosphere 
of  t.he  stables,  it  has  faded  and  peeled,  until  only  a  part  of  the 
original  glories  remain,  and  yet  enough  to  show  the  best  ren¬ 
dering  of  the  Saviour  ever  attempted,  and  to  make  the  ruin  a 
pilgrimage.  Fortunately  it  was  copied  and  copied  again,  long 
ago  and  before  it  was  materially  destroyed,  so  that  all  the  world 
has  seen  copies  of  it.  But  to  have  saved  the  picture  itself — 
to  have  it  intact,  to-day,  and  in  the  perusal  of  it  to  come  back 
into  the  presence  of  the  God-Man  as  only  the  eye  can  assist 
the  mind  to  come  : — this  would  have  been  something  for  an 
age  wandering  away  so  far  from  Him  !  To  have  seen  the 
divine  head  so  lovingly  bowed,  and  the  divine  hands  so  spread 
in  blessing,  as  in  this  marvellous  picture,  however  grayed  and 
faded  by  time  and  the  stabling  of  horses — this  is  a  privilege 
which  the  Governor  would  not  have  forgone  at  any  price  with¬ 
in  computation.  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  in  this,  came  nearer  to 
reproducing  the  Glory  of  All  the  Ages,  than  any  one  who  pre¬ 
ceded  or  followed  him :  has  any  other  mere  man  so  noble  a 
crown  on  the  forehead  of  his  effort?  and  is  this  not  truly  a 
“marvel  of  Milan  ”  worthy  to  have  been  ranked  the  first  in¬ 
stead  of  the  third  ? 


224 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


Marvel  the  Fourth. — The  pretty  women  of  Milan.  Yes,  this 
is  the  fourth  and  concluding  marvel  of  the  beautiful  North 
Italian  city,  without  the  Brera  Gallery  and  its  many  noble 
works  of  art,  of  Raphael,  and  Sebastian  del  Piombo,  and  An¬ 
drea  Mantegni,  and  Gaudenzo  Ferrari,  and  da  Vinci  himself, 
and  Canova  in  his  Napoleonic  sculptures,  and  others  innumer¬ 
able  of  the  immortal  line,  being  at  all  forgotten  or  underrated  ; 
and  without  any  denial  of  the  statement  that  the  Belgiojoso 
Palace  is  the  finest  in  Milan,  and  quite  worth  considering  if 
offered  as  a  token  of  esteem. 

The  subject  is  a  delicate  one  on  which  to  write,  and  the 
Governor  can  only  do  it  with  fear  and  trembling — also  with 
great  brevity.  But  the  women  of  Milan — at  least  theyoung  ones, 
who  are  all  that  the  world  seems  to  care  for — are  very  hand¬ 
some  ;  more  collectively  handsome  than  those  of  any  other 
city  in  Europe,  and  closely  approaching  to  that  city  of  Amer¬ 
ica  which  contains  the  greatest  aggregated  beauty  of  all. 
(That  city  is  not  to  be  named  here,  for  obvious  reasons  ;  let 
every  reader  supply  it  for  himself  or  herself ,  and  so  the  eyes  of 
the  writer  escape.)  Something  of  the  piquant  attractiveness 
of  the  women  of  Milan  is  unquestionably  due  to  the  bare  head 
and  the  mantilla  {a  la  Espagnole )  which  are  universal  ;  but  the 
forms  and  the  eyes,  also  the  lips,  are  not  made  by  any  man¬ 
tilla,  however  set  off  by  it.  And  the  Governor,  in  various 
wanderings  about  the  city,  did  so  find  himself  pierced  with 
darts  from  those  Italian  eyes,  as  to  carry  a  veritable  bed  of 
prickly  nettles  beneath  his  waistcoat,  all  the  more  fierce  and 
fiery  because  of  enforced  silence  (modesty  and  ignorance  of 
the  language  both  understood).  And  in  a  couple  of  evenings 
spent  at  the  Giardina  Cova,  the  favorite  evening  resort  of  the 
Milanese,  where  he  went  to  hear  music,  drink  raspberry  syrup, 
and  smoke  the  cigar  of  peace — he  did  so  tumble  in  love  with 
first  one  and  then  another  of  two  or  three  hundred  dark-eyed 
beauties,  to  each  of  whom  he  at  the  special  moment  vowed  to 
pay  exclusive  adoration  thenceforth,  that  the  memory  is 
equally  confusing  and  delicious,  while  whatever  of  intact 
heart  he  may  before  have  possessed,  has  ever  since  been  rid- 


MILAN  MARVELS. 


225 


died  into  the  condition  of  that  article  of  domestic  economy 
known  as  the  colander. 

Ah,  those  pretty  women  of  Milan,  with  the  ripe  forms,  the 
merrj'  eyes,  the  grapevine  tendril  hair,  and  the  mantilla  worn 
as  the  finishing  charm  of  all  coquetry  !  To  what  excesses  might 
they  not  lead  any  one  less  mindful  of  the  strict  proprieties  than 
this  one  adorer  whose  addresses  they  were  spared  through  that 
blended  modesty  and  lingual  ignorance  !  And  how  necessary 
the  Governor  feels  it  that  he  should  go  back  again  to  Milan 
some  day,  and  look  to  it  that  no  one  else  suffers  from  their 
fascinations,  so  far  as  he  can  stand  as  a  breastwork  in  general 
defence  of  his  sex  ! 


XXVII. 

VENETIAN  GONDOLAS,  VIEWS  AND  HISTORY. 

It  is  very  easy  and  very  natural  to  say  that  “  Venice  is  the 
most  interesting  city  in  the  world.”  So  it  is,  in  all  probabil¬ 
ity.  But  that  conveys  little  or  nothing  ;  and  not  much  more  is 
conveyed  by  the  appellations,  “  City  of  the  Sea,”  “  Bride  of 
the  Adriatic,”  and  others,  so  often  used  because  so  sounding 
and  poetic.  There  have  been  an  endless  succession  of  super¬ 
latives  lavished  on  Venice  ;  but  to  judge  from  the  Governor’s 
experience,  they  have  told  us  very  little  in  reply  to  that  com¬ 
mon-sense  inquiry  :  “  What  is  it  like  ?” 

In  point  of  fact,  the  first  thing  necessary  to  be  known  about 
the  City  of  the  Sea,  is  what  is  it  not  like.  To  describe  it  by  a 
single  phrase,  would  be  to  call  it  the  “  City  in  the  Sea  for 
that  is  its  real  condition.  Most  of  those  who  have  not  visited 
it,  think  of  it  as  a  city  with  canals  through  the  streets,  say  like  Am¬ 
sterdam  or  Rotterdam,  in  Holland.  It  is  nothing  of  the  sort : 
it  is  a  city  whose  streets  are  canals  ;  and  the  only  comprehen¬ 
sive  comparison  that  can  be  made  is  to  say  that  it  creates  the 
impression  of  being  a  town  invaded  by  a  spring  freshet,  with  the 
water  up  to  the  first  floors  of  the  houses,  and  everybody  tem¬ 
porarily  going  about  in  boats  until  the  flood  dries  away.  The 
remark  is  common,  that  there  is  not  a  horse  in  Venice  ;  it 
might  go  much  further,  and  say  that  there  is  not  a  street,  the 
usual  acceptation  of  the  term  being  understood  ;  and  only  those 
fabulous  draught-animals,  the  sea-horses,  could  be  of  any  use. 
It  is  not  certain  whether  the  stone  foundations  extend  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  water  and  mud,  or  Avhether  the  whole 
city  is  built  upon  piles,  like  the  villages  of  Siam,  in  the  old 
geographies  ;  but  certain  it  is  that,  with  the  very  scantiest  of 
exceptions,  all  of  the  space  it  covers,  not  houses,  is  water. 


VENETIAN  GONDOLAS ,  c Sec. 


227 


Rogers’  fine  four  lines  of  description,  in  his  poem  of  “  Italy,” 
perhaps  tell  nearly  as  much,  in  a  brief  space,  as  has  been  con¬ 
veyed  in  all  the  preceding  ; 

“  There  is  a  glorious  citv  in  the  sen  ; 

The  sea  is  in  the  broad,  the  narrow  streets, 

Ebbing  and  flowing,  and  the  salt  sea  weed 
Clings  to  the  marble  of  her  palaces.” 

As  an  illustration  of  this  peculiar  location.  On  the  first 
afternoon  of  the  Governor’s  brief  sojourn  in  Venice,  coming 
out  of  the  rear  door  of  his  hotel,  on  what  seemed  a  sort  of 
narrow  ledge  over  the  canal,  and  wishing  to  find  his  unas¬ 
sisted  way  to  the  Piazza  of  St.  Marc,  he  asked  the  landlord 
for  a  direction.  “  Oh,  you  cannot  miss  it,”  he  replied  ;  ”  “  keep 
on  until  you  come  to  the  next  wide  street,  then  turn  to  the 
left,  and  you  will  be  in  sight  of  the  square.”  “  The  next  wide 
street !  ”  he  echoed.  “  Very  good  ;  but  where  shall  I  find  the 
first  wide  one?”  The  landlord  laughed,  and  said:  “Oh,  of 
course  you  do  not  understand,  yet !  This  is  the  widest  street 
in  Venice.”  The  Governor  measured  it,  as  a  curiosity,  and 
found  it  seven  feet  ■wide!  The  narrow  ones,  that  he  passed, 
then  and  afterward,  mere  passages  between  rows  of  houses — 
averaged  about  three  feet !  A  narrow  riband  like  this, 
along  the  edges  of  some  of  the  minor  canals  (there  is  none  at 
all  along  the  Grand  Canal)  from  the  back  of  one  house  to 
another,  or  where  the  ends  of  the  hundreds  of  bridges  abut,  or 
a  little  wider  strip  at  some  special  landing-place,  or  in  front  of 
some  church  or  other  public  building,  this  is  all  that  Venice 
proper  possesses  of  solid  earth,  except  in  the  Grand  Piazza 
or  square  of  St.  Marc  ;  the  Piazzetta  or  Little  Square  ;  the 
Mrolo;  and  a  few  other  and  minor  instances.  Of  course, 
with  no  horses,  riding  is  unknown  ;  and  so  is  walking,  to  any 
great  extent — others  than  Paddy,  when  they  wish  to  enjoy  a 
promenade,  being  obliged  to  utter  the  summons  :  “What  ho, 
my  gay  gondolier  !  ”  and  take  their  walk  in  a  boat  ! 

That  boat — the  gondola  ;  perhaps  it  is  entitled  to  the  next 
word,  being  among  the  most  important  things  connected  with 
Venice,  the  oftenest  talked  of,  and  the  least  understood.  The 


16 


228 


OVER  HALE  EUROPE. 


Gondolier,  a  charming  figure  in  pictures,  with  lithe  form,  em¬ 
broidered  jacket  and  all  the  attractions — is  a  very  ordinary 
boatmany  sort  of  person,  in  reality,  and  without  the  least  pic¬ 
turesque  feature  in  his  attire,  while  he  is  habitually  dirty  (in 
spite  of  the  water  so  convenient),  and  not  always  pleasant  to 
come  on  the  leeward  side  of,  after  he  has  been  making  extra 
exertions.  lie  does  not  sing,  either:  (thank  all  the  fates  for 
that !)  though  he  does  yell  occasionally.  He  stands  at  near 
the  stern  of  his  boat,  on  a  flat  platform,  and  at  once  rows 
and  steers,  with  a  single  oar  placed  in  one  or  the  other  of  two 
notches  in  the  sides  of  a  row-lock  about  two  feet  high.  He 
handles  oar  and  boat  with  admirable  awkwardness,  so  far  as 
can  be  judged  by  a  northern  barbarian  and  a  bad  oarsman, 
but  one  who  has  known  boats  and  boatmen  all  his  life.  He 
utters  one  of  two  cries,  always,  when  approaching  a  corner 
behind  which  another  boat  may  be  coming  to  meet  him  : 
“  Stallay  !  ”  understood  to  be  “  Look  out !  ”  or  “  Give  me  the 
road  !”  or  “  Au  premyay  !”  translated  into  “Go  ahead!”  or 
“Take  the  right  of  way  !” 

1 1  is  boat,  the  far-famed  gondola  (of  which  New  Yorkers 
have  sometime  seen  a  melancholy  and  rotting  specimen  in 
the  Lake  at  the  Central  Park) — is  a  low  flaring  craft,  very  much 
curved  upward  at  bow  and  stern,  so  that  only  a  short  propor¬ 
tion  of  the  bottom  touches  the  water,  and  that  it  turns  easily, 
A  high  prow  of  iron  rises,  something  like  a  huge  butchers’- 
cleaver,  with  three  or  four  bars  nailed  across  the  handle — said 
to  be  always  kept  at  that  height,  as  a  gauge,  to  ensure  that 
when  that  passes  under  a  bridge,  all  behind  will  also  pass 
clear.  In  the  gunwales,  at  each  side,  some  six  or  seven  feet 
apart,  and  inclosing  the  middle  or  waist  of  the  boat — are  two 
holes,  into  which  are  inserted,  for  cool  weather,  the  tennons 
of  a  sloping-roofed  frame,  covered  with  black  cloth,  and  with 
doors  at  the  ends  and  windows  at  the  sides.  For  hot  weather, 
instead  of  this,  bent  poles  covered  with  a  light  frame  are  in¬ 
serted  into  these  holes,  and  a  gay-colored  or  white-cotton 
awning  drawn  over  the  frame,  as  a  protection  from  the  sun — 
precisely  after  the  manner  of  the  movable  bow-top  of  an  ex- 


VENETIAN  GONDOLAS,  &c. 


229 


press  wagon.  For  service,  other  than  the  carrying  of  passen¬ 
gers,  neither  frame  is  supplied,  and  the  boat  is  left  merely  an 
open  one,  with  no  suspicion  of  the  traditional  “gondola” 
except  in  shape.  The  place  for  passengers  is  entirely  in  the 
middle,  generally  on  cushions,  though  that  luxury  is  some¬ 
times  waived.  How  many  of  these  marine  conveyances  there 
may  be  at  and  about  Venice — who  can  guess?  They  are  uni¬ 
versal  as  indispensable,  of  all  shades  of  moderate  elegance 
and  of  shabbiness,  and  probably  number  half  as  many  as  the 
cabs  of  London — four  or  five  thousand.  The  Governor  prob¬ 
ably  saw  them  nearly  all,  one  night,  at  the  moonlight  festival 
of  the  Lido  ;  and  there  can  be  no  other  time  so  proper  as  this, 
to  relate  his  experience  in  reaching  that  place,  by  gondola — 
an  experience  that  he  remembers  with  a  sort  of  delighted  hor¬ 
ror,  as  he  does  storms  at  sea,  prospects  of  railway-smashes,  and 
other  things  of  the  kind,  which  sometimes  fall  to  the  lot  of  the 
traveller. 

The  festival  was,  as  the  name  indicates,  an  extraordinary 
occasion  (to  be  hereafter  again  recalled) ;  and  the  single  gon¬ 
dolas  were  all  taken  up  as  fast  as  they  appeared  ;  while  the 
two  little  steamers  running  across  the  Lagune  to  that  point, 
were  worse  overcrowded  than — say  a  New  York  horse  car  at 
six  o’clock  in  the  evening,  or  a  Brooklyn  ferryboat  at  the 
same  hour;  people  not  only  sitting  on  the  gunwales  and  rail¬ 
ings,  but  hanging  fast  of  them  like  so  many  bees  around 
a  swarming  hive.  There  was  nothing  for  it,  then,  but  to  look 
out  for  an  omnibus-gondola— a  sort  of  conveyance  with 
enough  of  mingled  capacity  and  unpopularity,  to  make  possi¬ 
ble  the  obtaining  of  a  seat.  Well,  the  Governor  did  obtain  a 
place,  thanks  to — whom  could  it  be  possibly  imagined  ?  a  fel¬ 
low  who  was  “touting”  or  drumming  for  the  boat,  on  the  lit¬ 
tle  dock,  by  representing  to  all  comers,  in  the  choicest  Italian, 
her  advantages  over  all  others — but  whom  the  Governor 
recognized,  and  made  him  admit  the  fact,  as  having  done  the 
same  thing,  in  vigorous  English,  on  a  New  York  pier,  for  the 
Francis  Skiddy,  in  the  great  Henry  Clay  and  Reindeer  racing- 
year  of  1852,  when  they  collared  and  forced  on  board  one  or  the 


230 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE 


other  of  the  rival  boats,  every  one  who  happened  to  come 
within  reach !  The  Governor  may  never  cross  the  Dead 
Sea,  or  go  from  one  of  the  South-Sea  Islands  to  another  ;  but 
if  he  does,  he  will  no  doubt  find  that  universal  person  some¬ 
where  about  the  place  of  starting,  recommending  boat  or 
canoe  in  the  choicest  of  Arabic  or  Polynesian  ! 

He  did  obtain  a  place,  then,  in  the  omnibus-gondola,  which 
had  about  twenty  other  passengers,  four  rowers  seated  for¬ 
ward,  and  a  half-rower  and  half-steersman  standing  on  the  plat¬ 
form,  aft,  one  oar  in  his  hands,  and  another  hanging  loose  on 
an  iron  pivot,  to  be  taken  up  and  dropped  down  again  semi- 
occasionally.  They  left  the  pier  ;  they  got  out  into  the  open 
Lagune.  The  wind  blew  briskly  from  the  east,  in  a  squall  that 
lasted  only  fifteen  minutes,  but  that  tumbled  up  very  pretty  lit. 
tie  waves  for  that  length  of  time,  and  that  would  have  made 
the  handling  of  a  well-managed  overloaded  boat  not  too  easy 
a  matter.  But,  powers  of  Neptune  ! — what  was  it,  in  that 
instance  !  The  boat  went  here,  there,  and  everywhere  (except 
to  t  he  bottom)  at  her  own  sweet  will.  The  four  rowers,  forward, 
missed  stroke,  caught  crabs,  tumbled  backward,  and  half-lost 
their  oars,  about  twice  a  minute.  And  yet  they  were  nothing 
to  the  man  at  the  stern,  who  jerked,  pulled,  rested,  squirmed, 
first  with  one  oar  and  then  with  the  other  ;  threw  off  his  coat, 
then  his  hat,  then  his  neckcloth  ;  perspired  in  a  stream  ;  and 
alternately  groaned  and  howled  like  a  maniac. 

It  was  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  Italian  boatmanship,  usually 
praised — a  wonderful  scene  ;  and  the  spectator  was  glad  that 
he  had  witnessed  it,  when  it  was  aver !  Meanwhile,  it  is  doubt¬ 
ful  whether  the  steersman  swore,  at  all,  in  all  his  howling ;  the 
drivers,  and  perhaps  the  boatmen,  of  an  American  city,  could 
teach  the  Venetians  something  in  that  direction.  For  the 
same  observer  was  in  a  jam  on  the  Grand  Canal,  one  day, 
when  about  twenty  boats  were  hopelessly  locked  together; 
and  though  there  was  any  quantity  of  pushing  and  gesti¬ 
culating,  and  directions,  and  yelling,  it  is  not  remembered 
that  there  was  a  single  oath,  or  that  one  of  the  gondoliers 
even  threatened  to  “mash  the  jaw  ”  of  another,  or  “  put  a 
French  roof  on  him.” 


VENETIAN  GONDOLAS,  &c. 


232 


Of  the  gondolas  and  the  gondoliers,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  add,  here,  that  the  boats  are  nearly  as  cheap  as  numer¬ 
ous — only  one  franc  per  hour,  each  rower,  in  the  day  time, 
and  twice  that  amount  at  night ;  though  boatmen  are  human 
here  as  elsewhere,  and  they  will  sometimes  try  to  get  in  the 
second  rower,  when  only  one  is  needed,  by  representing  hard¬ 
ships  that  do  not  exist.  Most  of  the  romance,  probably,  as 
well  as  most  of  the  intrigue,  connected  with  these  boats,  has 
passed  away,  with  tne  power,  the  glory,  and  the  proud  and 
dangerous  vice  of  the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic.  It  is  still  some¬ 
thing,  however,  in  making  what  was  once  the  “  grand  tour,” 
to  have  answered  Shakespeare’s  query  and  “  swam  in  a  gon¬ 
dola  at  Venice  and  it  is  perhaps  something  more  to  have 
been  rowed,  in  one  and  another  of  these  boats,  over  so  many 
ladies  of  condition,  plunging  off  the  front  steps  of  their 
palaces,  not  too  voluminously  arrayed, — as  fell  to  the  Gover¬ 
nor’s  alarmed  lot,  during  various  and  sundry  excursions 
along  that  marine  thoroughfare.  He  afterward  remembered 
some  of  the  white  limbs  in  the  water,  and  some  of  the  dark 
eyes  that  laughed  up  at  him,  on  those  occasions,  with  the  im¬ 
pression  that  Venice  has  very  pretty  mermaids,  for  whom  one 
might  go  fishing  very  pleasantly,  with  the  proper  bait ! 

But  we  have  been  more  or  less  “carried  away”  by  the  gon¬ 
dola,  as  was  inevitable  with  a  thing  built  especially  for  car¬ 
rying  passengers  ;  and  something  more  remains  to  be  said  of 
the  position  of  the  citv,  and  its  relation  to  the  waters  crossing 
and  surrounding  it — before  dealing  with  a  few  specialties, 
of  interest  alike  to  visitor  and  reader. 

The  view  of  Venice  with  which  non-visitors  are  most  famil¬ 
iar,  is  one  taken,  or  supposed  to  be  taken,  from  a  gondola  at 
some  little  distance  off  the  main  water-front,  in  the  open  La- 
gune,  just  in  face  of  the  most  remarkable  cluster  of  interesting 
objects  covering  the  same  space  at  any  one  point  in  the 
known  world.  In  this  picture,  which  many  will  remember, 
the  central  figure,  so  to  speak,  is  the  Doge’s  Palace,  a  large, 
flat,  Moorish  building,  of  white  marble  mosaicked,  with  zig¬ 
zag  courses  of  colored  marble — the  plan  and  form  used,  in 


232 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


very  much  reduced  proportions,  for  the  New  York  Acadamy 
of  Design,  but  the  whole  lower  story  a  line  of  magnificent 
Moorish  open  columns  and  arches.  To  the  right,  as  seen  by 
the  spectator,  at  only  a  little  distance,  a  much  lower  and 
smaller  building,  on  the  same  front-line,  is  the  Carceri,  or  Old 
Prison  building,  with  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  spanning  the  inter¬ 
vening  canal,  from  one  to  the  other.  In  front  of  both,  and 
thence  stretching  along  the  water-side  to  the  right,  for  some 
distance,  is  the  Molo,  the  Riva,  or  Mola  Riva  dei  Schiavoni, 
really  the  principal  wharf  of  Venice.  To  the  left  of  the  Doge’s 
Palace,  an  open  flagged  space,  running  back  alongside  of  it, 
is  the  Piazzetta,  or  Little  Square,  with  the  Libreria,  or  Old 
Library,  forming  the  other  side  ;  and  on  the  outer  edge  of 
this,  aligning  with  the  palace-front,  stand  the  two  handsome 
columns  so  often  spoken  of  in  Venetian  history  and  romance — 
that  nearest  the  Palace  having  on  its  broad  top  the  Winged 
Lion  of  St.  Marc,  emblem  of  the  city  ;  and  that  nearest  the 
Libreria  being  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  St.  Theodore 
standing  on  a  crocodile,  old  token  of  the  Republic. 

Immediately  behind  the  Doge’s  Palace,  and  not  seen  in  this 
view,  except  its  topmast  pinnacles,  is  the  church  of  St.  Marc, 
fronting  westward  on  the  Grand  Piazza,  which  opens  westward 
from  the  Piazetti  behind  ;  and  behind  the  Libreria,  just  in 
front  of  the  church,  looms  up  the  wonderful  Campanile  or 
Bell-Tower,  304  feet  in  height  and  as  generally  visible  as  Bun¬ 
ker  Hill  Monument  at  Boston,  while  at  once  the  handsomest 
and  most  impressive  thing  that  was  ever  shaped  by  human 
hands  out  of  a  mere  square  pile  of  red  bricks  with  a  raised 
edging  and  a  sloping  top.  Around  this  are  always  circling 
and  flitting  the  innumerable  doves  or  pigeons  of  Venice,  said 
to  be  descended  from  those  carrier-birds  that  first  brought 
to  the  city  the  news  of  the  successes  against  Constantinople, — 
and  as  sacred  from  harm  and  as  much  regarded  as  part  of  the 
civic  glory,  as  the  chimney-nesting  storks  of  Franco-German 
Strasbourg.  To  the  left  of  the  Libreria  lie  the  Royal  Gardens, 
at  the  northern  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  Grand  Canal. 

If  the  spectator  in  the  gondola,  having  observed  so  much  at 
this  point  of  the  water-front,  should  turn  around  in  his  boat 


VENETIAN  GONDOLAS,  &c. 


233 


and  look  southward,  he  would  see  that  several  large  islands 
cut  off  the  view  from  the  open  sea — nearest,  the  islands  of  the 
Guidecca  and  St.  Giorgio  Maggiorc  (with  its  splendid  church 
of  the  same  name  crowning  the  point),  and  southeastward  and 
farther  away,  the  Lido,  its  full  name  seldom  used,  being  the 
Lido  di  Palestrina,  the  mingled  Long  Branch  and  Coney 
Island  of  Venice,  besides  being,  at  one  point,  the  burial-piace  of 
heretics  from  the  Church.  The  spectator  would  find,  too, 
that  he  was  not  far  from  the  entrance  of  the  Grand  Canal, 
before  mentioned  ;  that  important  main  street,  or  watery 
Broadway,  entering  from  the  lagoon  just  westward  from  the 
Royal  Gardens,  with  the  Punta  della  Salute,  crowned  by  the 
church  of  the  same  name  (one  of  the  noblest  in  Venice), 
forming  the  outer  cape  or  front  of  the  entrance.  Though  he 
could  not  then  sec  the  fact,  he  might  afterwards  learn  that 
this  same  Grand  Canal,  there  entering,  pursues  its  way  through 
the  entire  city  from  that  point  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  S, 
made  backwards  by  a  schoolboy  coming  out  again  to  the 
lagoon  at  the  northwest  of  the  city,  at  the  island  of  Chiara. 

So  much  understood,  in  position  :  now  for  a  few  rapid  words 
of  historical  review  ;  and  afterward  an  equally  rapid  examina¬ 
tion  of  certain  points  of  special  interest,  any  attempt  at  con¬ 
nected  description  being  at  once  disclaimed.  And  if  any 
reader  should  fancy  his  extent  of  information  called  in  ques¬ 
tion  by  the  historical  reminders,  let  him  be  consoled  by  the 
admission  that  the  present  instructor  has  needed  the  same 
“  rubbing  up,”  and  would  need  it  to-day  but  for  a  late  visit, 
and  those  compelled  researches  incident  to  the  professional 
direction  of  travel. 

Venice,  on  the  mainland,  was  founded  and  inhabited  by  the 
Romans,  of  course  :  everything  in  Europe  was  “  founded  by 
the  Romans."  Then,  equally  of  course,  the  young  city 
was  “destroyed  by  the  northern  hordes” — the  Huns,  Goths, 
&c.,  who  broke  up  nearly  as  many  things  as  the  Romans 
founded.  After  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  some  of  the 
people  from  the  mainland  escaped  from  the  pursuing  barba¬ 
rians,  to  the  islands  in  the  lagoon,  at  this  point,  and  here  laid 


234 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


the  foundations  (again  in  the  congenial  mud)  of  the  City  of 
the  Sea.  It  had  its  Doge  (duke  or  governor)  as  far  back  as 
697.  But  the  Crusades  may  be  said  to  have  made  it,  during 
the  more  than  200  years  from  1070  to  1300.  Venice  lay  on  the 
sea,  very  near,  comparatively,  to  the  Holy  Land  ;  the  north¬ 
ern  nations,  who  wished  to  go  there  to  be  let  blood  and  dissi¬ 
pate  their  wealth,  could  find  no  other  way  of  going,  so  con¬ 
venient  as  hiring  the  Venetian  ships,  and  paying  roundly  for 
them,  after  coming  down  to  the  Adriatic  by  land.  Gradually 
it  became  virtual  mistress  of  the  sea,  possessing  half  Italy, 
part  of  Greece,  and  almost  all  the  islands  in  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean. 

Perhaps  it  reached  its  first  culmination  in  power  at  about 
1200,  when  the  Doge  Enrico  Dandolo  had  so  large  a  share  in 
the  taking  of  Constantinople  and  destruction  of  the  East¬ 
ern  Empire — bringing  back  with  him  to  Venice,  by  the  way, 
even  a  larger  share  of  the  plunder  of  the  captured  city,  which 
we  may  have  later  occasion  to  examine.  From  1200  it  un¬ 
derwent  continued  contests  with  other  piratical  powers — 
the  Turks,  the  Genoese,  Hungarians,  &c.,  alternately  losing 
and  winning  territory,  but  generally  coming  out  a  little  ahead 
from  long  practice,  until  about  1500  it  reached  its  second  or 
highest  culmination,  as  other  things  do,  just  before  they 
commence  tailing.  It  had  then  about  200,000  inhabitants  ;  a 
fleet  of  fifty  war  galleys,  holding  control  of  the  whole  Medi¬ 
terranean  ;  some  300  sea-going  vessels  ;  and  not  less  than  300 
smaller.  But  from  that  time  it  declined.  The  Turks  took 
away  its  eastern  possessions  ;  the  Portuguese,  with  the  aid  of 
the  lately-discovered  routes  to  India,  helped  themselves  to  its 
carrying  trade,  as  the  English  have  done  with  ours  ;  and  the 
Pope,  the  French,  and  other  Powers,  who  could  make  nothing, 
more  out  of  it,  inaugurated  its  ruin  by  the  League  of  Cambrai. 

It  had  flashes  of  glory  afterward,  however  ;  as  when  the 
Venetian  galleys  so  splendidly  aided  Don  John  of  Austria  to 
defeat  the  Turks  at  Lepanto,  1571  ;  and  when  they  themselves 
defeated  the  same  Power,  in  1684,  1696,  and  1698.  Nevertheless, 
the  doom  was  written  ;  all  the  other  Powers  helped  them- 


VENETIAN  GONDOLAS,  &c. 


235 


selves  to  pieces  of  it,  at  intervals  ;  and  after  the  Peace  of 
Passarowitz,  1718,  which  gave  the  Turks  all  they  claimed, 
Venice  ceased  to  be  a  Power  with  any  controlling  influence. 
But  the  worst  was  not  yet !  Venice  rejected  the  proposals 
of  alliance  of  the  French  Republic,  after  the  Revolution  ;  and 
as  a  punishment,  Napoleon,  then  General  Bonaparte,  took 
possession  in  1797,  destroyed  what  did  not  please  him,  carried 
away  what  did,  and  handed  over  the  territory  to  Austria,  by 
the  Treaty  ofCampo  Formio. 

Venice,  the  once  mighty  and  rapacious,  had  now  become  a 
mere  shuttlecock — everybody  sent  it  where  they  wished.  By 
the  Treaty  of  Presburg,  it  became  Italian  ;  by  that  of  1814-15, 
it  went  back  to  Austria.  In  1848  it  became  for  a  brief  time 
again  a  republic,  under  the  presidency  of  Daniel  Manin  ;  but 
the  Austrians  took  it  again  in  1849,  to  lose  it  once  more  and 
finally  (let  us  hope),  in  1867  to  the  Kingdom  of  Italy,  which 
may  Heaven  long  preserve,  if  it  proves  the  good  government 
promised  ! 

At  what  time  the  Council  of  Ten,  at  once  the  pride  and 
dread  of  Venice,  with  its  patriotism,  its  treasons,  its  secrets 
and  its  cruelties,  became  a  part  of  the  system  of  government, 
it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  decide.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  it  existed  in  1100  ;  it  is  known  to  have  been  still  in  exist¬ 
ence  in  1600;  and  though  now  long  past,  it  still  exists  to-day, 
with  its  later  variations,  the  Cinque  Cento  and  the  Council  of 
Three — as  a  shadowy  force  possessing  almost  the  strength  of 
a  reality.  To  the  visitor  to  Venice,  to-day,  it  moves  through 
the  now  silent  halls  of  the  Doge’s  Palace  ;  it  seems  to  grope 
in  the  mouldy  darkness  of  the  old  dungeons  still  remaining  ; 
it  glides  at  midnight  over  the  canals,  inside  the  black  curtains 
of  tbe  gondola.  It  makes,  and  must  ever  make,  half  of  Vene¬ 
tian  history  and  Venetian  romance. 


XXVIII. 

AROUND  VENICE,  GENERALLY. 

After  the  gondolas  and  history,  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  is  the 
next  thing  at  Venice  to  enchain  the  attention  of  the  visitor — 
principally  because  Byron  wrote  falsely  of  it,  in  “  Childe  Har¬ 
old 

“  I  stood  in  Venice,  on  the  Bridge  of  Sighs, 

A  palace  and  a  prison  on  each  hand.'' 

There  is  nothing  of  the  sort :  only  a  palace  on  one  hand  and 
a  prison  on  the  other.  The  Bridge  of  Sighs  crosses  the  little 
Canal  di  Palazzo,  from  the  Doge's  Palace  to  the  Carceri,  or 
Prison  ;  from  the  second  story  of  the  former  to  the  top  story 
of  the  latter.  It  is  thus  some  distance  above  the  water, 
covered,  and  with  two  small  windows  at  the  sides,  through 
which  the  prisoners  who  crossed  it  were  supposed  to  draw 
long  breaths  (“ sospiri ”)  as  they  went  in. 

With  a  propensity  easily  understood,  even  if  unexplainable, 
the  Governor  went  into  the  Old  Prisons,  under  the  leaden  roof 
of  the  Doge’s  Palace,  and  in  the  Carceri,  and  noted  the 
exquisite  feeling  with  which  they  used  to  imprison  people 
up  under  the  roof  in  blazing  summer,  and  down  in  the  damp 
lower  dungeons  in  mid-winter.  On  this  July  day  the  glass 
went  up  to  1340,  under  the  roof ;  and  though  it  was  from  the 
spot  where  Silvio  Pellico  fed  his  pigeons,  the  visitor  had 
enough  of  it  in  a  short  period,  and  hurried  away.  Then  into 
the  loathsome  and  mouldy  stone  dungeons  under  the  Carceri, 
where  the  entrance  is  actually  made  by  creeping,  and  the  only 
air  is  admitted  through  a  six-inch  hole  in  the  door,  but 
where  poor  old  Marino  Faliero,  the  two  Foscari,  and  other 
subjects  of  romance,  were  confined  until  mercifully  killed. 
Mercifully  killed  ? — perhaps  not ! — for  there  is  a  fearful  spot 
near  the  door  of  Faliero’s  prison,  called  something  like 
“  Execution  Passage  and  the  irons  in  the  walls  still  show 
where  stood  the  iron  chair  in  which  the  victims  were  mur¬ 
dered,  and  the  trap  where  they  were  afterward  shoved  into 


A RO  UNO  VENICE. 


237 


the  canal,  tor  the  1'ishes.  Horrible,  all  this?  Decidedly  so  ; 
so  let  us  leave  the  place  and  linger  a  brief  space  in  the  Doge’s 
Palace. 

This  central  spot  in  all  Venetian  history  is  four-sided,  sur¬ 
rounding  a  courtyard;  and  in  that  yard  of  splendid  architec¬ 
ture  and  fine  statuary  there  are  two. bronze  wells,  from  which 
all  have  the  privilege  of  drawing  water  at  certain  hours  : 
nearly  all  the  Venetian  water  being  brackish  and  bad.  From 
this  court,  ascent  is  made  up  the  Giant’s  Stairs  (so  named 
from  Sansovini’s  “Mars”  and  “  Neptune  ”  standing  above). 
Here,  at  the  head  of  these  stairs,  Byron’s  Marino  Faliero  was 
beheaded  five  hundred  years  ago  ;  and  here,  in  the  wall,  a 
mere  insignificant  slit  of  some  four  inches  by  two,  was  the 
“  Lion’s  Mouth”  of  the  people,  into  which  those  fatal  accusa¬ 
tions  were  put,  from  which  no  one  in  Venice  was  safe,  and  on 
the  strength  of  which  the  Council  of  Ten,  or  Three,  or  One 
Hundred,  or  whatever  it  was,  simply  put  to  death  the  accused 
without  any  trial  to  speak  of. 

Up  another  staircase,  the  Scala  d’Oro  (or  Stair  of  Gold,  so 
called  because  only  those  who  had  their  names  in  the  Golden 
Book  could  ascend  it),  and  the  Governor  was  in  the  Great 
Council  Chamber,  the  largest  in  the  Palace,  and  one  of  the 
most  interesting  in  Europe.  It  is  a  magnificent  hall,  with 
heavy  carved  and  gilded  cornices ;  and  the  whole  room, 
which  must  have  400  feet  of  wall,  is  literally  filled  with  noble 
pictures,  by  Tintoretto,  Paul  Veronese,  Bassano,  and  others  of 
the  Venetian  school,  magnifying  the  glories  of  Venetian  his¬ 
tory  ;  while  Tintoretto’s  “  Paradise  ”  covers  the  entire  end  of 
the  room  with  some  fifty  feet  by  eighty  of  active,  glowing 
figures,  and  the  frescoed  ceiling  has  some  of  the  very  best 
work  of  that  great  artist,  in  the  “Triumph  of  Venice.  ’ 

Around  the  frieze,  at  the  top  of  this  room,  there  is  a  line  of 
portraits  of  the  Doges,  with  a  black  curtain,  lettered  in  gold  : 
“  Hiceest  locus  Marino  Faliethri  decapitati  pro  criminibus 
and  here  is  also  a  point  at  which  the  list  suddenly  stopped, 
when  Napoleon  came  one  day  and  there  were  no  more  Doges 
in  Venice. 


238 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


No  one  can  be  expected  to  thread  the  maze  and  under¬ 
stand  the  construction  of  the  apartments  in  this  Palace,  which 
seem  to  have  been  arranged  especially  to  drive  mad  the  con¬ 
demned.  There  would  appear  to  have  been  about  a  dozen 
apartments  especially  designed  for  this  laudable  purpose, 
with  doors  here,  and  passages  there,  and  secret  closets  yonder, 
and  all  the  necessaries  for  this  kind  of  exercise.  Then  there 
was  a  second  “  Lion's  Mouth,  "  that  of  the  nobles,  here  within — 
an  iron  box,  opening  in  an  inner  room,  always  locked  with  at 
least  three  keys,  so  that  no  one  could  destroy  an  accusation, 
if  he  would,  and  thus  save  any  accused.  Pleasant,  again,  all 
this,  was  it  not  ?  Let  us  turn  to  some  of  the  pictures. 

There  are  nearly  a  dozen  grand  apartments  of  the  Doge’s 
Palace,  all  glorious  in  noble  paintings  by  great  masters,  and 
rich  with  gilded  cornices  and  wondrous  frescoes.  Titian, 
Paul  Veronese,  Tintoretto,  the  -two  Palmas,  and  many  others, 
are  here  represented,  at  their  best ;  and  among  them  is  Paul 
Veronese’s  celebrated  “  Rape  of  Europa,  ”  hurled  at  the  Pope, 
and  representing  the  Bull  (Papal  “  Bull  ”)  carrying  off  Europa 
(all  Europe)  on  his  back.  Then  there  is  a  horribly-fascinating 
“  Inferno,”  which  gives  odds  to  Dante  and  Dore,  representing 
men  being  boiled  in  kettles,  smashed  flat  like  pancakes,  fried 
in  pans,  eaten  of  serpents,  and  otherwise  generally  delighted. 
And  there  is  (in  the  Voting  Hall,  adjoining  the  Senate  Cham¬ 
ber,  where  still  stands  the  old  throne  of  the  Doge,  and  the 
seats  of  the  Senators,  under  ceilings  and  cornices  of  unequalled 
richness  in  carving),  a  picture  by  Palma  the  Younger,  in  which 
that  aged  youth,  painting  on  it  in  three  different  years,  has  first 
put  the  portrait  of  his  wife  in  heaven,  among  the  blessed— then 
(the  second  year)  in  purgatory — and  then  (the  third  year)  in 
the  hottest  tortures  of  the  infernal  regions,  with  a  diabolical 
gentleman  shoving  her  still  a  little  further  in  ! 

The  Church  of  St.  Marc,  standing  on  the  Grand  Piazza  of  the 
same  name,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  world,  if  not 
one  of  the  most  beautiful.  It  is  Saracen  in  architecture,  with 
domes,  minarets,  and  round  arches.  Over  the  doorway  caper 
the  marvellous  Bronze  Horses  of  St.  Marc,  cast  at  Rome 


ARO  UND  VENICE. 


239 


stolen  to  Constantinople,  then  to  Venice,  then  to  Paris  (by 
Napoleon),  then  back  to  Venice — to  go  where,  next,  let  no 
one  guess.  Near  the  church,  at  the  right  of  the  entrance, 
stands  the  gigantic  Campanile,  one  of  the  master-works  of  its 
class  on  earth  ;  and  there  is  a  clock-tower,  separate  from  the 
church,  at  the  left,  where  two  colossal  Vulcans,  or  Moors, 
strike  the  hours  with  hammers,  and  where,  at  two  o'clock 
every  day,  thousands  of  doves  come  fluttering,  to  be  fed  with 
grain  on  the  Piazza.  There  needs  no  opening  of  a  door  to 
enter  St.  Marc  ,  it  is  only  to  sweep  back  a  curtain  from  the 
doorway.  Then  it  is  seen  that  the  interior  is  very  dark  and 
dismal,  with  old  mosaic  floor,  cracked  in  many  places,  but 
with  columns  of  the  richest  marbles,  statues  and  monuments 
innumerable,  and  altars  bearing  the  most  lavish  decoration  in 
jewels,  gold  and  silver,  and  the  ceilings  of  all  the  domes  lined 
with  rarest  old  pictures,  in  glass  mosaic,  on  ground  works  of 
gold,  such  as  no  artist  has  ever  attempted  elsewhere,  and 
such  as  illumines  the  whole  dusky  interior  with  an  absolute 
blaze  of  glory. 

Then  there  is  a  square  of  red  marble  in  the  pavement,  show¬ 
ing  where  the  Emperor  Frederic  Barbarossa  kneeled  to  have 
the  foot  of  Pope  Alexander  III.  set  on  his  neck.  And  not  far 
away  (ah,  how  different,  this  !)  behind  the  high  altar  is  the 
accredited  tomb  of  St.  Mark,  the  Evangelist,  and  the  personal 
companion  of  the  Saviour  of  Men.  It  is  well  to  leave  the 
church,  with  this  refining  fancy  in  mind,  and  wander  out  into 
the  Grand  Piazza,  paved  with  dark  variegated  marble,  entirely 
surrounded  by  noble  colonnaded  buildings,  albeit  now  dingy 
shops  and  cafes.  As  we  go,  however,  it  is  well  to  note  that 
there  are  doors  to  St.  Marc,  even  if  one  enters  through  a  cur¬ 
tain.  So  there  are,  truly,  massive  doors  of  sculptured  bronze, 
stolen  from  the  Christian  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  at  Constanti¬ 
nople.  Then  there  arc  three  splendid  ornamented  flagstaffs 
near— models  from  which  those  at  the  New  York  Central 
Park  Lake,  and  many  others,  have  been  made.  They  were 
stolen  from  the  Turks  three  or  four  hundred  years  ago.  The 
derivation  of  the  bronze  horses  has  already  been  given  ;  and 


240 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


the  whole  story  is  instructive.  It  only  remains  to  add  to  it 
that  the  stone  lions  standing  before  the  Arsenal,  and  of  which 
Napoleon  knocked  off  the  heads,  were  stolen  from  the  Greeks. 
There  an  end  ' 

It  may  be  as  well,  with  this  reminder,  to  proceed  to  the 
Arsenal  itself,  one  of  the  most  interesting  points  in  Venice, 
especially  to  the  lover  of  the  antique  and  the  historical.  It 
lies  along  the  great  docks,  at  the  northeast  of  the  city,  where 
the  immense  armaments  of  Venice  used  to  be  prepared  ;  and 
the  neighborhood  of  it  is  hot  enough,  at  midsummer  noon,  to 
oblige  the  sentinel  on  guard  to  stand  under  a  Broadway  stage 
umbrella,  to  avoid  sunstroke  down  his  bayonet. 

The  interest  of  the  Arsenal  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  build¬ 
ing  itself,  but  in  the  admirable  collection  of  relics  and  curios¬ 
ities,  gathered  from  many  lands  and  all  ages.  The  stone  lions 
with  the  damaged  heads,  stand  in  front  of  the  gateway ;  and 
the  outer  wall  has  a  monument  to  Count  Scholenburg,  one  of 
the  generals  of  the  later  Republic.  Among  the  curiosities  of 
first  rank,  within,  are  the  battle-flag  of  the  Turkish  Admiral, 
taken  at  Lepanto  by  Don  John  of  Austria,  in  1571,  and  on 
which  Cervantes  no  doubt  looked  ;  the  great  leathern-banded 
cannon  used  at  the  taking  of  Constantinople  ;  the  hideous  one- 
eyed  helmet  of  Atilla  the  Hun  ;  the  armor  of  Ilenry  IV.  of 
France;  the  immense  two-handed  sword  that  Enrico  Dandolo 
wielded  at  Constantinople  when  he  was  nearly  eighty  ;  frag¬ 
ments  of  the  original  Bucentaur,  with  which  the  Doge  went 
down  towed  the  Adriatic;  swords  and  other  weapons,  of  all 
ages,  many  of  them  colossal  ;  poisoned  daggers,  keys,  rings, 
and  other  articles,  with  which  the  rulers  of  Naples,  Florence, 
Ferrara,  &c.,  put  away  their  unwelcome  guests  ;  part  of  the 
raft  with  which  Admiral  Angelo  Emo  took  Tunis,  when  he  had 
lost  all  his  ships;  and  (alas  !  that  the  story  should  need  to  be 
told  !)  ;  models,  not  less  than  three  hundred  years  old,  and 
seeming  to  be  perfect  except  the  percussion,  of  Colt's  re¬ 
volver  and  the  French  mitrailleuse  ! 

And  so  we  drift  away  from  the  only  half-explored  Arsenal, 
to  spend  a  few  moments  with  Shakspeare  and  with  the 


A  no  UN  D  T ENTICE. 


241 


Shakspearian  localities  of  the  old  city,  where  both  “  Othello  ” 
and  the  ‘  Merchant  of  Venice’  had  their  home.  It  is  not  too 
easy  to  locate  the  scene  of  the  former  play.  Off  the  Grand 
Canal,  on  the  Canal  della  Carmina,  and  at  the  corner  of  the 
Campo  of  the  same  name,  there  is  a  square  house,  with  a 
mailed  full-length  statue  at  the  corner  of  the  second  story, 
and  a  bonneted  head  over  the  lower  door— known  as  the 
“  Palace  of  Cristofero  il  Moro,”  a  Venetian  commander,  sup¬ 
posed  by  many  to  have  been  distantly  the  original  of  Othello. 
And  there  is  another  palace,  on  the  Grand  Canal,  with  a  broad 
balcony — pointed  out  as  the  residence  of  Brabantio  and  home 
of  Dcsdemona.  All  this  may  be  doubtful  ;  probably  it  is  so. 

But  there  is  no  such  ambiguity  hanging  about  the  principal 
localities  of  the  “  Merchant  of  Venice.”  The  eye  sees  at  a 
glance  the  places  intended.  The  Ponte  di  Rialto,  a  noble 
bridge,  crosses  the  Grand  Canal  at  very  nearly  the  centre  of 
the  city.  It  is  a  substantial  and  very  handsome  structure, 
round-arched,  stepped,  with  an  open  tower  in  the  centre,  with 
triple  passage,  and  shops  on  either  side  of  it.  This  is  believed 
by  many  playgoers,  and  also  many  stage-setters,  to  be  the 
“  Rialto,”  which  it  is  not.  That  is  to  be  found  in  the  Campo 
St.  Giacomo  di  Rialto,  a  small  paved  and  colonnaded  square, 
not  far  from  the  end  of  the  bridge,  with  the  Church  of  St. 
Giacomo  bounding  the  southern  face,  and  the  column  known 
as  the  “  Gobbo  of  the  Rialto,  ”  standing  near  it.  Here  it  was— 
not  on  the  bridge — that  Shylock,  and  Antonio,  and  Bassanio, 
walked,  and  talked,  and  spat  on  each  others’  clothes.  And  only 
a  little  distant  is  another  localization,  the  Calle  di  Securita,  a 
street  of  money  lenders  and  pawnbrokers,  where  is  pointed 
out  an  iron-barred  and  strong-shuttered  house  as  that  of  Shy- 
lock.  Taken  all  in  all,  the  fitness  of  place  to  story,  in  the 
“  Merchant  of  Venice,  ”  is  simply  marvellous  ;  and  one  can 
scarcely  believe  that  the  master  dramatist  never  visited  the 
Adriatic,  in  the  face  of  such  absolute  local  accuracies. 

A  brief  word,  and  a  brief  word  only,  of  several  of  the  re¬ 
maining  curiosities  of  Venice,  worthy  of  far  more  attention 
than  they  can  here  receive. 


242 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


Beside  what  he  saw  in  the  Doge’s  Palace,  the  Governor 
found,  in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  and  elsewhere,  miles  and 
acres  of  the  fine  drawing  and  splendor  in  color,  of  Titian, 
Tintoretto,  Paul  Veronese,  the  Palmas,  Paris  Bordone,  Bassano, 
and  others, -of  whom  Venice  was  literally  the  home.  Among 
all  these  there  can  only  be  specified,  in  the  Academy,  Titian’s 
“  Ascension  of  the  Virgin,”  unspeakably  grand  and  radiantly 
lovely,  and  Paul  Veronese’s  masterwork  as  well,  the  “  Martyr¬ 
dom  of  St.  Sebastian,”  going  to  the  very  fountain  of  human 
pity,  pain,  sorrow  and  indignation.  Next  to  these,  unquestion¬ 
ably,  are  the  great  works  in  marble,  in  the  very  old  Church  of 
Santa  Maria  dei  Frari,  where  the  tombs  of  Titian  and  Canova 
stand  opposite  each  other,  each  covering  half  a  wall,  and  each 
rivalling  the  other  in  artistic  glory,  as  the  sleepers  rivalled 
each  other  in  fame.  Canova  designed  his  own  tomb,  for 
Titian,  to  have  it  erected  over  himself  by  his  mourning  disci¬ 
ples,  who  declared  that  it  should  cover  no  man  meaner.  It  is 
an  alto-relievo  pyramid,  in  the  walls,  with  half-open  doors  ; 
while  over  it  guard  the  Winged  Lion  of  Venice,  the  Genius  of 
Sculpture,  and  a  veiled  woman  carrying  the  urned  heart 
toward  the  door,  with  emblamatic  figures  following.  A  royal 
sepulture  this;  and  yet  scarcely  more  royal  than  that  of 
Titian — a  triumphal  arch,  supported  by  four  columns  with 
winged  lions  at  top.  Five  of  the  most  celebrated  of  his  paint¬ 
ings  are  represented,  in  bass-relief ;  and  there  are  full-length 
statues  of  himself,  as  he  was  at  35,  at  65,  and  at  99,  while  six 
allegorical  figures  of  the  Arts  make  up  the  grand  and  masterly 
grouping.  After  such  works,  becomes  secondary  even  the 
colossal  tomb  of  Doge  John  Pisani,  the  conqueror  of  Africa — 
with  its  elaborate  ornamentation  and  four  turbaned  negroes 
bearing  the  whole  upper  portion  on  their  broad  bending 
backs. 

The  Grand  Canal,  which  Canaletto  painted  so  wondrously 
at  every  point,  is  wide,  the  water  washing  the  steps  of  its 
palaces,  the  whole  length  ;  and  in  front  of  many  are  those 
high,  ornamented  “  hitching-posts  ”  so  well  known  in  all  pic¬ 
tures  of  Venice.  Palaces  they  are,  that  line  this  canal,  indeed 


AROUND  VENICE. 


243 


as  well  as  in  name — as  those  of  the  Two  Foscari,  of  Doge 
Enrico  Dandolo,  Barberini,  Contarini,  Grimani,  and  others — 
many  of  them,  now  (shall  we  say  “  alas  ”  ?)  in  trade  !  Saracenic 
architecture  prevails  throughout,  marking  the  erections,  many 
centuries  ago,  of  men  only  lately  come  back  from  the  crusades. 
Of  course,  the  Grand  Canal  is  the  fashionable  promenade  (in 
boats)  of  the  city  ;  and  the  scene  on  it,  of  a  summer  afternoon, 
in  the  stately  old  palace-fronts,  the  awninged  gondolas  full  of 
bright-clothed  pleasure  seekers,  and  the  athletic  gondoliers 
plying  their  trade  so  vigorously, — is  one  full  of  life  and  color, 
and  long  to  be  remembered. 

But  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  Governor,  in  that  incident 
already  recorded  in  the  previous  paper,  going  out  to  the  Lido, 
to  see  the  gondolas  of  Venice,  collective!}',  under  more  favor¬ 
able  circumstances  than  could  have  been  supplied  elsewhere 
in  the  world.  The  Lido,  a  long  island  of  about  half  a  mile 
wide,  lying  some  miles  over  the  Lagune,  and  forming  a  harbor 
against  the  open  Adriatic, — has  been  already  spoken  of  at  some 
length.  That  nightr being  the  Sommernachtfest  or  midsummer 
full-moon  festival,  lanterns  played  nearly  as  important  a  part  as 
they  do  with  the  Chinese.  The  island  was  itself  a  blaze  of  lights, 
at  every  point  where  a  burner  could  be  lit  or  a  lantern  hung, 
from  the  landing-place  all  the  way  across  to  the  open  sea 
of  the  Adriatic. 

But  imagine,  if  such  a  thing  can  be,  standing  at  the  principal 
landing-place;  with  myriad-lighted  Venice  over  the  rippled 
Lagune,  four  or  five  miles  away  ;  the  whole  shore,  on  which 
the  observer  was  standing,  crowded  with  people  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ranks  and  conditions,  with  lanterns  flashing  upon  them 
literally  everywhere,  overhead  and  at  all  points;  the  beach,  so 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  lined  with  gondolas  of  all  sizes  and 
descriptions,  and  each  bearing  as  many  lights  as  could  be  put 
upon  it  by  human  ingenuity;  then  the  whole  Lagune,  from  the 
island  to  the  city,  sparkled  and  dotted,  here,  there,  everywhere, 
by  the  lights  of  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  boats,  coming, 
going,  crossing  each  other,  with  the  number  and  changeful 
variety  of  the  fire-flies  in  a  summer  meadow.  And  add  to 


17 


244 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


this,  music  in  infinite  quantity  and  oddity,  but  a  certain  excel¬ 
lence  throughout ;  voices  using  all  the  tongues  since  Babel, 
but  the  soft  Italian  predominant  as  the  Italian  dark-eyes  flash¬ 
ing  under  the  lights  ;  and  above  all  this  the  cloudless  full- 
moon  pouring  down  her  flood  of  liquid  splendor  from  a  sky 
blending  blue  and  amber,  through  air  refreshing  as  wine  and 
fragrant  with  mingled  sea-breeze  and  flower-perfume. 

Imagine  all  this,  so  far  as  possible  ;  and  then  think,  with  the 
Governor,  that  perhaps  he  followed  the  practice  of  the  children 
in  eating  delicacies — keeping  the  best  to  the  last — and  that  he 
did  well  in  leaving  Venice  on  the  morning  following  the 
Moonlight  Festival  of  the  Lido. 


FLORENCE  ART,  AND  MILD  BRIGANDAGE. 

The  Governor  came  to  Florence,  from  Venice,  in  what  may¬ 
be  designated  as  a  hurry,  and  without  having  entertained  the 
least  idea,  twenty-four  hours  before  he  left  the  Bride  of  the 
Adriatic,  of  going  to  Florence  at  all.  But  a  man  younger 
than  himself,  athletic,  and  with  a  military  reputation,  hap¬ 
pened  upon  him  when  he  was  just  arranging  to  leave  Venice, 
and  laid  upon  him  those  mild  commands  to  “  come  along  with 
him,  and  at  once  !”  which  have  been  obeyed  so  many  times, 
with  fear  and  trembling,  since  Mephistopheles  (supposably) 
walked  off  with  John  Faust  the  philosophical  printer-doctor- 
The  name  of  the  compelling  power,  for  this  occasion,  was  the 
Colonel ;  and  that  name  was  more  than  a  mere  picture,  as  the 
wearer  of  it  had  marched  up  to  several  batteries  and  into  a 
considerable  number  of  conflicts,  in  the  War  for  the  Union. 
Also,  he  habitually  carried  a  sword-stick,  with  a  blade  of  about 
two  feet  in  length,  a  little  loose  in  the  sheath,  and  consequently 
in  the  habit  of  jingling  when  he  set  it  violently  down  on  hard 
ground.  Was  not  the  Governor  right,  to  obey  the  command 
of  this  man,  and  to  accompany  him  anywhere  that  he  hap¬ 
pened  to  designate  ? 

At  all  events,  they  left  Venice  in  company,  by  rail,  at  9:45 
one  hot  morning,  just  when  the  first  mosquito  was  making 
his  appearance  (with  a  horn  under  his  arm)  on  the  shores  of 
the  Lagune.  At  noon  that  day  they  had  Rovigo  at  the  left, 
with  a  square  brick  tower  the  only  prominent  object,  but 
quite  enough  to  occupy  attention,  in  the  fact  that  near  it 
Napoleon  fought  one  of  his  great  early  battles.  There  was  a 
glimpse,  too,  of  the  Adige,  which  persistent  river  has  an  ap¬ 
parent  faculty  of  distributing  itself  a  little  miscellaneously 
through  all  the  lower  Tyrol  and  most  of  Northeastern  Italy. 
Then  at  12:45  P-  M.,  they  were  crossing  the  wide  Sarepo  by  a 
handsome  iron  bridge  with  a  bridge  of  boats  immediately  above 


246 


O  VER  HA  LF-E  UR  OPE. 


it,  and  approaching  Ferrara,  again  at  the  left— a  solidly  built, 
low-lying  town,  with  two  or  three  towers  of  height,  and  much 
appearance  of  durability,  besides  strong  fortifications  sur¬ 
rounding  it,  and  inevitable  remembrances  of  the  D’Estes, 
Dukes  of  Ferrara,  of  Leonora  Ariosto,  and  Torquato  Tasso,  as 
also  of  the  splendid  blades,  the  “  Andrea  Ferraras”  which 
used  to  have  the  privilege  of  “  spitting”  as  many  men,  in 
duels,  after  the  manner  of  skewering  larks,  as  any  other 
manufacture  of  steel  ever  known.  The  Colonel  was  already 
armed,  however ;  and  only  the  Governor,  having  no  other 
means  of  wasting  a  few  livres,  bought  a  sword-stick,  war¬ 
ranted  to  be  of  the  very  steel  once  supplied  by  Andrea,  while 
probably  of  about  the  actual  tenacity  and  keenness  of  a 
barrel-hoop.  It  glittered,  however,  when  drawn,  and  that 
was  eventually  to  be  of  more  consequence  than  he  knew  at 
the  moment. 

Here  the  Po  came  into  view  for  the  first,  and  was  duly 
wondered  over — it  seeming  unlikely  that  a  stream  no  larger 
should  have  had  so  important  a  history.  Then  rose  some¬ 
what  higher  ground  than  that  on  which  they  had  before  been 
running  from  Venice,  the  Po  much  of  the  time  in  view,  and 
some  suspicions  of  the  coming  Apennines.  And  at  2.20  P.  M. 
they  were  at  Bologna — the  weather  atrociously  hot,  and  the 
lunch  which  they  enjoyed  at  the  railway  buffet  of  the  level- 
lying  old  town,  principally  composed  of  soup  a  la  boiled  dish- 
rag,  without  even  a  sausage.  Had  the  “  wait  ”  been  longer, 
they  would  have  been  enabled  to  “do”  the  really  fine  old 
town,  of  which  the  Palazzo  del  Podesta,  the  Palazzo  Pubb- 
lico,  and  the  Church  of  St.  Petronio,  as  well  as  many  other 
objects,  were  found  on  another  occasion  to  be  of  decided 
interest,  as  became  one  of  the  oldest  Italian  cities  and  the 
Capital  of  the  Campagna :  had  it  been  shorter,  the  Bolognese 
air  would  not  have  been  loaded  by  the  irascible  Colonel  with 
quite  so  many  silent  and  half-muttered  objurgations. 

They  were  away  from  Bologna,  however,  at  a  little  past  three 
P.  M„  and  from  the  moment  of  leaving  were  among  scenery 
capable  of  making  them  forget  the  delay.  For  they  were 


FLORENCE  ART  AND  BRIGANDAGE. 


247 


entering  a  spur  of  the  Apennines,  beside  the  Po,  with  many 
bridges  though  very  little  water,  and  passing  through  some 
twoscore  of  tunnels.  A  little  beyond,  and  they  were  in  the 
midst  of  engineering  of  that  character — tunnels,  bridges  and 
levels — closely  approaching  if  not  equal  to  that  of  the  road  up 
the  valley  of  the  Rhone.  They  seemed  to  be  alternately  on  the 
tops  of  mountains  and  under  them,  with  the  precipices  and 
bridges  quite  decided  enough  for  any  sense  of  comfort,  but  very 
pleasant  for  after  recollection.  They  were  at  Pistoja  at  6:15 
P.  M.,  with  nothing  especial  to  note  about  the  old  town,  except 
that  its  railway-stoppage  arrangements  might  have  been  made 
before  the  Deluge — and  that  that  very  noisy  instrument  of 
torture  and  defence,  as  well  as  great  instigator  of  duelling, 
the  pistol,  had  its  origin  there. 

Before  and  after  reaching  Pistoja,  they  were  making  some 
of  the  last  descents  of  the  Apennines,  and  some  of  the  finest. 
The  mountain  gorges  were  exceedingly  picturesque  in  their 
blending  of  the  rocky  and  the  wooded  ;  and  the  views  over 
the  fertile  plains  of  Tuscany,  and  the  splendidly-wooded  hills, 
became  beautiful  exceedingly.  Then  they  were  at  heavily- 
fortified  Prato,  actually  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  range 
proper  ;  and  with  a  few  more  leaps  and  shrieks  of  the  engine, 
they  had  reached  one  more  goal  of  the  pilgrimage,  quite  unex¬ 
pected  to  the  Governor.  They  were  beside  the  Arno,  at 
Florence;  and  if  Italy  had  still  something  more  to  offer,  it  had 
nothing  finer  than  this  beautiful  city,  with  the  most  melodious 
name  in  all  nomenclature,  and  an  air  approaching  more  nearly 
to  wine  than  any  other  that  the  traveller  has  the  privilege  of 
breathing  on  this  side  of  the  Dark  Valley. 

Close  students  of  geography,  or  extensive  travellers,  do  not 
need  to  be  told  that  Florence  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Arno, 
in  a  valley  shut  in  by  the  Apennines,  and  with  a  climate 
acknowledged  to  be  of  great  average  pleasantness,  though 
subject  to  some  sharp  variations.  By  far  the  larger  propor¬ 
tion,  however,  lies  on  the  right  bank.  The  walls,  said  to  have 
been  erected  at  the  same  time  with  the  Cathedral,  between 
1280  and  an  hundred  years  later,  have  now  been  removed, 


248 


OVER  HALF-EUROPE. 


though  the  three  gates — the  Porta  alia  Croce,  Porta  St. 
Gallo,  and  Porta  Romano — still  remain,  with  their  noble 
sculptures,  to  the  credit  of  the  local  taste.  Most  of  the  best 
residences  of  what  may  be  called  the  new  town,  are  also  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Arno,  extending  down  to  the  Cascine, 
something  after  the  manner  of  the  best  Parisian  residences 
studding  the  Champs  Elysees  and  stretching  away  toward  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne.  No  less  than  six  bridges  cross  the  river  ; 
the  most  important  being  the  Ponte  Vecchio,  extending 
from  the  Pitti  Palace  and  the  Uffizi  to  the  Palazzo  Vecchio 
(“Old  Palace”),  the  Ponte  Santa  Trinita,  and  the  Ponte  alle 
Grazie.  On  both  sides  of  the  river  stretch  the  Lung  Arno 
(literally  “along  the  Arno”),  broad  and  handsome  quays, 
affording  the  most  delightful  of  promenades  along  the  river, 
something  like,  but  far  better  than  either  the  Quays  of  Paris 
or  the  Victoria  Embankment  of  London.  It  remains  to  be- 
added,  as  of  the  first  consequence  in  locating  the  leading 
buildings  of  interest,  that  the  Duomo,  the  Piazza  della  Sig- 
noria,  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  the  Uffizi,  Santa  Croce,  and  the 
matchless  Church  of  San  Lorenzo,  with  most  of  the  other 
curiosities  first  attracting  the  traveller,  are  on  the  right  or 
main  bank  of  the  Arno,  while  the  Pitti  Palace  and  the  Boboli 
Gardens  are  on  the  left  or  minor  bank. 

And  now  a  word  of  the  history  of  Florence,  which  may  be 
said  to  date  back  to  the  last  century  before  Christ,  and  to  a 
foundation  by  the  Romans.  It  has  necessarily  taken  part  in 
most  of  the  political  changes  of  the  peninsula,  made  wars  and 
endured  them,  been  ridden  over  and  ridden  over  others,  with 
the  usual  freedom  of  important  cities  in  what  we  call  the 
Middle  Ages.  Of  most  consequence,  however,  is  the  fact 
that  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  wealthy  commercial  family  of 
the  Medici  developed  itself  into  rank  and  power,  establishing 
a  name  and  an  influence  that  the  ages  have  been  powerless  to 
dim.  First  Giovanni  (John)  ;  then  Cosmo,  his  son ;  then 
Peter,  son  of  the  last-named  ;  then  Lorenzo,  surnamed  the 
Magnificent,  ruled  Florence,  in  what  may  be  considered  its 
palmy  days,  with  a  dozen  others  of  their  blood  more  or  less 


FLORENCE  ART  AND  BRIGANDAGE. 


249 


succeeding,  until  the  extinction  of  the  dynasty  by  the 
death  of  Giovanni  Gaston,  in  1737.  After  the  Medici,  a  branch 
of  the  Austrian  house  became  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany,  and 
held  that  place  until  the  late  revolution  made  it  a  part  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Italy  and  with  no  need  of  a  special  local  ruler. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  most  of  the  Medici  were  quite  suffi¬ 
ciently  unpleasant,  personally — especially  to  those  who 
chanced  to  “run  foul  of  them,”  to  use  a  phrase  of  modern 
origin — but  they  were  munificent  patrons  of  art ;  and  some¬ 
thing  may  be  forgiven  them,  for  themselves,  and  for  the  bad 
blood  which  they  gave  to  France  in  Catharine  and  Marie  de 
Medici,  for  the  sake  of  what  they  were  and  did  at  home. 

But  Florence  has  other  prides  than  those  supplied  by  the 
Medici.  Dante  was  born  here,  about  1265.  Boccaccio,  whose 
“  Decameron  ”  has  furnished  more  profitable  placers  for  lit¬ 
erary  “hooking’’  than  any  other  single  book  in  the  world, 
also  lived  here.  Here  Machiavelli  and  Galileo  were  born, 
honored,  abused  and  misunderstood.  Here  originated  Giotto, 
and  Brunelleschi,  and  Ghiberti,  and  Andrea  del  Sarto,  and 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  Michael  Angelo,  and  so  many  others 
of  only  lesser  fame  that  to  recite  their  names  would  be  to  tell 
over  the  history  of  half  the  art  of  Eurone. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  either  the  Colonel  or  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  informed  themselves  on  these  points  of  history  or 
geography,  during  their  brief  sojourn  in  Florence.  They  did 
locate  both,  however,  to  a  very  respectable  degree. 

Naturally,  the  first  drift  of  the  travellers  was  to  the  Duomo, 
Santa  Maria  del  Fiore,  standing,  a  glory  of  white,  black  and 
colored  marble,  on  the  Piazza  del  Duomo,  only  a  step  from  the 
broad  Via  Calzazoli.  They  were  a  little  crushed  (who  could 
be  otherwise  ?)  under  Brunelleschi’s  Dome,  though  they  found 
it  impossible  to  realize  that  it  was  the  largest  in  the  world  ; 
and  they  shared  in  the  general  impression  that  the  Cathedral, 
if  ever  the  facade  should  be  finished,  as  it  has  not  been  in 
three  hundred  years  of  waiting  for  the  white  marble  casing, 
would  be  among  the  grandest  of  the  earth.  But  their  eyes 
did  not  long  linger  on  the  Duomo,  in  the  presence  of  the 


250 


O  VER  HALF-E  UR  OPE. 


Campanile,  thrusting  up  its  three  hundred  feet  of  Giotto's 
splendid  decorated  architecture  into  the  sunlit  Italian  air,  and 
making  one  fancy  that  it  must  have  been  dreamed  instead  of 
builded,  to  have  that  atmosphere  of  glorious  unreality.  And 
they  quite  agreed  with  Michael  Angelo,  that  Ghiberti's  won¬ 
drous  bronze  doors  of  the  Baptistry  were  -‘worthy  of  Paradise," 
though  they  might  not  have  thought  of  the  fact  but  for  that 
authoritative  statement.  Then  they  strolled  to  San  Lorenzo, 
only  a  little  distance  away,  up  the  Via  Pucci,  and  stood  in  the 
veritable  presence  of  that  same  Michael  Angelo,  as  they  had 
never  expected  to  do  on  the  lower  earth.  In  the  vaults,  in 
the  crypt  below,  lie  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  Medici ;  but 
in  the  church  above  are  the  most  royal  entombments  that 
the  world  has  ever  known,  of  the  Grand  Dukes  Cosmo,  Alex¬ 
ander,  and  others,  with  the  arms  of  Tuscan  families  in  splen¬ 
did  stone  mosaics  ;  and  under  a  noble  dome,  with  frescoes  by 
Benvenuto,  andHapestries  of  “Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife,” 
and  other  Scriptural  subjects,  are  the  tombs  of  Dukes  Ferdi¬ 
nand  and  Cosmo  the  Great,  with  statues  that  would  elsewhere 
be  inconceivable,  and  all  the  colored  marbles  ever  before  seen 
seeming  to  be  mere  preparations  for  this  crowning  glory. 

But  all  this  was  of  itself  only  preparatory.  For  after  a  time 
the  travellers  came  to  the  New  Sacristy,  and  to  the  tombs  of 
Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  and  Guiliano  de  Medici.  The  great 
hand  of  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti  has  touched  both,  and 
they  are  matchless  as  immortal.  The  tomb  of  Lorenzo  has 
those  wonderful  twin  glories  in  stone,  the  “Day”  and  “  Night  ” 
of  the  great  master,  before  which  so  many  ages  have  bowed  in 
something  approaching  to  adoration.  In  the  Medician  chapel, 
which  was  built  with  the  intention  of  stealing  away  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  from  Jerusalem  and  here  placing  it,  may  be  seen 
such  studding  of  tombs  and  walls  with  precious  stones,  and 
such  quartering  of  armorial  bearings  in  costly  mosaics,  as  the 
modern  mind  cannot  easily  take  in  as  a  reality,  until  the 
remembrance  comes  up  of  that  droll  genius  who  considered 
losing  friends  as  rather  preferable  to  keeping  them,  with 
proper  opportunities  for  burying  them  in  due  splendor. 


FLORENCE  ART  AND  BRIGANDAGE. 


251 


Certainly  the  pomp  of  death  is  here  exhausted  ;  and  it  is  even 
a  relief  to  look  up  to  Benvenuto's  frescoes  of  the  Last  Judg¬ 
ment,  and  similar  awful  grandeurs  in  color. 

But  San  Lorenzo  and  the  tombs  of  the  Medici  must  not  de¬ 
tain  us  longer  from  what  may  be  called  the  “  Heart  of  Flor¬ 
ence,"  quite  as  truly  as  St.  Giles  the  “  Heart  of  Mid  Lo¬ 
thian."  Very  near  the  Arno  stands  the  wonderful  cluster 
that  must  be  despatched  with  so  few  words.  Here,  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  business  portion  of  Florence,  is  the  Piazza  del 
Gran’  Duca  (apparently  identical  with  the  Piazza  della  Sig- 
noria);  and  here,  at  the  doorway  of  the  Palazzo  Vecchio, 
opening  off  it,  is  Michael  Angelo’s  “  David,”  perhaps  to-day, 
though  the  sculptor  was  only  twenty-five  when  he  chiselled 
it,  the  noblest  ideal  ever  conceived  of  the  Minstrel  King.  And 
here  is  the  “  Lion  ”  of  Donatello,  on  the  very  spot  where  Sav- 
anarola  met  his  cruel  death  by  the  flame  ;  and  near  it  stands 
a  noble  equestrian  “  Cosmo  I.,”  by  John  of  Bologna,  the  most 
nervous  of  all  modellers  ;  and  a  charming  “  Fountain  of  Nep¬ 
tune,”  by  Ommanati,  rounds  the  list  if  it  does  not  complete  it. 
And  under  this  exquisite  Loggia  di  Lanza,  a  portico  itself  com¬ 
manding  the  applause  of  a  world  in  architecture,  are  some 
noble  sculptures,  “  Judeth  Slaying  Holofernes,”  and  a  “  Dying 
Gladiator,”  which  we  must  pass  with  only  a  glance  or  never 
reach  the  inner  goal. 

It  was  into  the  Uffizi  Gallery  that  the  Colonel  and  the 
Governor  entered  from  the  Piazza  and  the  Loggia,  and  it  was 
here  that  they  found,  perhaps,  the  very  best  gems  of  art 
gathered  within  the  same  space  in  the  world.  Names  ?  No, 
they  cannot  be  given.  And  works  ?  No,  they  cannot  be  enu¬ 
merated.  Did  they  not  see  in  the  Tribune  of  this  art-honored 
building  the  original  ‘‘Venus  de  Medici,”  small  looking  and 
brown  with  age,  but  with  a  modesty  in  bearing  and  a  nobility 
in  conception,  as  well  as  a  womanly  softness  in  the  eyes,  mar¬ 
vellous  in  marble,  impossible  to  copy,  and  commanding  the 
despairing  applause  of  the  sculptors  of  all  time?  And 
Raphael’s  “  Fornarina,”  unquestionably  the  warmest  breath¬ 
ing  woman  still  pure,  ever  extended  upon  canvas?  And 


O  VER  HA  LF  E  UR  OPE. 


Titian’s  “  Reclining  Venuses  ”  (two  of  them,  one  without), 
equally  beyond  question  the  most  voluptuously  beautiful  of  all 
the  productions  of  that  painter’s  pencil  ?  And  the  “  Slave 
Whetting  the  Knife,”  in  which  the  whole  story  of  involuntary 
servitude  and  its  result  is  told,  and  from  which  America  might 
have  learned  a  lesson  without  waiting  to  sacrifice  a  million  of 
lives  in  decyphering  it  ?  And  did  they  not  see  (here  or  herea¬ 
bouts)  Gerardo  Dell’  Notti’s  “Adoration  of  the  Shepherds,” 
and  another  “Adoration  ”  by  the  same  hand,  matchless  in  the 
soft  luminosity  of  their  upward  lights?  And  the  “Madonna 
Seggiola,”  in  color  the  rival  of  the  Venus  de  Medici  in  shape"? 
And  a  bust  of  “  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,”  looking  indefinably 
bold  and  cruel  as  well  as  proud,,  and  leading  to  the  question 
whether  in  the  old  time  (of  course  it  is  not  so  in  this  period) 
all  power  was  accompanied  by  the  worse  passion?  And  were 
they  not  literally  blinded  by  the  array  of  shape  and  color  suc¬ 
ceeding,  so  as  neither  to  know  names  nor  care  for  them  ?  And 
were  they  not  completely  dazzled  next,  and  made  idolators,  in 
the  Gem  Room,  with  all  the  precious  stones  and  shapen  metals 
of  all  the  world,  by  the  world’s  greatest  artists  ?  And  then, 
with  only  half  the  wonders  of  the  Uffizi  seen,  and  only  a  tenth 
understood,  did  they  not  cross  the  Arno  by  the  Ponte  Vecchio, 
nearly  a  mile  in  length,  the  covered  corridor  lined  the  whole 
distance  with  the  portraits  of  the  Medici,  and  with  square 
acres  of  the  finest  of  old  tapestries  ?  And  then,  with  only  time 
for  the  benefit  of  glances  out  at  the  Boboli  Gardens,  where 
poor  Willis  used  to  locate  so  many  of  his  pretty  fancies  in  the 
days  when  there  was  a  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany  and  a  court 
in  Florence,  were  they  not  in  the  Pitti  Palace  and  in  the 
midst  of  another  bewildering  display  of  the  art  of  all  lands  and 
all  ages  ? 

It  must  have  been  from  a  little  of  the  “  Keramic  Kraze,” 
that  the  Colonel  here  fell  rapturously  in  love  with  a  great 
blue-and-gold  Sevres  vase,  of  such  proportions  that  one 
might  easily  have  drowned  in  it — and  with  a  porphyry  vase  no 
less  than  twelve  feet  across — declaring  his  intention  to  elope 
with  them.  The  Governor,  meanwhile,  was  making  love  to 


FLORENCE  ART  AND  BRIGANDAGE. 


253 


the  magnificent  galleries,  with  their  heavy  white-and-gold 
cornices  and  ceilings — until  he  came  upon  No.  67,  Titian's 
matchless  “  Magdalen,”  with  the  upcast  eyes,  the  rounded 
bosom,  and  the  sweeps  of  fair  hair  literally  rippling  across  the 
breast  in  changing  lights  of  silver  and  gold.  Then  and  there¬ 
upon  he  declined  to  see  anything  else,  pronouncing  this  pic¬ 
ture  one  of  the  crowning  glories  of  the  earth,  with  the  hair 
something  to  net  and  enmesh  the  hearts  of  all  beholders. 
Thanks  to  a  second  thought,  he  eventually  paid  due  attention 
to  Murillo’s  “  Holy  Families,”  and  once  more  marked  how  that 
painter  outdid  the  world  in  color,  in  peasant  grace,  and  the 
very  joy  of  humanity,  but  how  surely  there  was  not  a  spark  of 
the  spiritual  in  him  and  no  divine  influence  ever  radiated 
from  one  of  his  infant  Saviours. 

This  was  but  little  of  Florence — who  does  not  know  it  ? 
But  what  would  you  ?  Time  pressed,  and  they  could  not  do 
all  the  fair  city  and  its  suburbs  They  could  look  up,  and 
they  did,  to  see  Fiesole  on  its  hills,  and  to  think  and  talk  of 
the  rustling  leaves  of  dimly  visible  Vallambrosa,  and  know 
that  somewhere  in  that  region,  within  sound  of  the  bells  of 
Florence,  was  laid  the  scene  of  the  retreat  from  the  Plague, 
and  the  marvellous  recitals  of  the  “  Decameron.”  And 
yonder,  at  only  a  little  distance,  within  the  city,  was  Santa 
Croce,  with  the  burial  urns  of  so  many  of  the  great  dead  that 
its  name  has  became  a  synonym  for  glorious  burial  ;  and  with 
the  monument  of  Michael  Angelo,  surrounded  by  the  three 
figures  of  Painting,  Sculpture  and  Architecture  as  his 
mourners  ;  with  some  of  the  Stuarts  and  some  of  the  Bona- 
partes  sleeping  there,  as  well  as  many  other  people  quite 
secondary  to  untitled  genius.  And  somewhere  in  the  old  city 
was  Casa  Guidi,  where  Mrs.  Browning  wrote  the  “Casa 
Guidi  Windows”  and  added  many  of  the  best  gems  to  a 
crown  that  can  lose  no  jot  of  its  brilliancy  while  time  endures — 
somewhere  in  the  old  city,  but  where,  for  the  hurried  and 
unguided  traveller  ? 

And  there  were  studios,  ay,  and  some  of  them  studios  of 
honored  Americans,  away  over  yonder,  beyond  the  Porta 


254 


OVER  HALF- EUROPE. 


Romana  and  along  the  Via  Farinata,  where  they  might  have 
supped  with  memories  of  Powers  and  with  the  living  Ball  and 
others — and  seen  once  more  the  strange  old  tower  where  Haw¬ 
thorne  wrote  the  “  Marble  Faun,”  that  the  English  have 
crazed  into  “  Transfiguration.”  But,  once  more,  what  would 
you  ?  They  could  not.  They  could  only  wander  a  little  down 
the  Lung  Arno,  as  their  last  evening  fell,  and  breathe  the  fra¬ 
grant  piny  air  that  holds  the  one  perfume  worth  living  for, 
and  see  the  curved  lines  of  lights  along  the  quiet  river,  with  the 
moon  high  above,  and  all  the  combinations  of  evening  beauty. 
They  could  only  join,  in  a  mild  way,  in  the  gayety  of  the 
Cascine  and  its  habitues  ;  and  listen  a  little  to  the  music, 
“  nothing  if  not  Italian and  buy  a  few  slices  of  watermelon 
of  the  vendor,  doubting  all  the  while  if  they  were  quite  equal 
to  the  best  at  Fulton  Market  ;  and  then — something  more, 
which  may  explain  at  least  half  the  heading  of  this  paper. 

It  was  well  along  in  the  evening,  probably  later  than  either 
the  Governor  or  the  Colonel  knew — possibly  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  midnight.  The  crowd  of  pleasure  seekers  in  the  Cas¬ 
cine  had  thinned  somewhat,  and  many  of  the  people  gone 
homeward — or  elsewhere.  But  the  moon,  only  a  little  past 
the  full,  had  just  risen  to  its  glory,  and  was  shining  from  across 
the  Arno  with  the  light  of  a  dimmer  but  glorified  day.  The 
breeze  came  refreshingly,  also,  from  across  the  river,  little 
amount  of  water  as  there  was  to  cool  it ;  and  the  cicadas  made 
such  a  tangle  of  chirping  music  from  the  trees  that  it  seemed 
an  undertone  to  every  word  spoken. 

Neither  of  the  parties  in  this  purview  had  any  fancy  for  the 
bed — the  experience  of  the  previous  night  not  having  been 
peculiarly  pleasant,  what  with  the  heat  and  some  other  char¬ 
acteristics  of  their  hotel  (which  may  as  well  remain  nameless) 
more  stable  than  agreeable.  So  they  walked  on  down  the  Lung 
Arno,  at  near  the  bank  of  the  river,  seldom  speaking,  and 
merely  enjoying  that  delicious  scene  and  the  more  delicious 
moonlight  all  the  better  for  the  silence.  After  a  time  they 
were  entirely  beyond  the  Cascine  proper,  and  the  few  voices 
of  those  remaining  there  died  away  behind  them.  Still  they 


FLORENCE  ART  AND  BRIGANDAGE. 


255 

went  on,  gradually,  though  without  being  quite  aware  of  the 
fact,  edging  away  a  little  from  the  river,  where  he  trees  seemed 
to  be  more  thinly  “scattered  than  on  the  very  bank.  And  so 
they  went  on,  for  how  long  or  how  far  neither  can  say,  but 
probably  until  they  were  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  or  a  mile, 
beyond  any  part  of  the  Cascine  frequented  by  the  evening 
visitors. 

Then,  still  walking  on  in  silence,  they  were  partially  aroused 
by  a  silver  flash  in  front  of  them,  and  saw  that  they  had  curved 
again  in  their  walk,  so  as  to  be  once  more  at  near  the  river- 
bank,  or  that  the  river  had  curved  round  to  meet  them.  A  few 
yards  farther,  and  the  ground  descended  a  trifle,  into  a  sort  of 
dell,  over  which  the  trees  threw  so  thick  a  shade  that  the 
moon  was  almost  totally  excluded.  Here  and  there  a  glint 
came  through,  however,  like  an  actual  lance  of  light. 

They  were  nearly  in  the  middle  of  this  dusky  belt  when  a  dark 
figure  darted  up  from  a  few  feet  at  the  left  and  stepped  out 
into  the  path,  stopping  there.  At  the  next  instant,  another 
made  its  appearance  from  the  right,  and  acted  similarly.  And 
then  another  and  another  made  like  appearances,  until  at 
least  five  or  six  (the  number  is  not  too  sure)  made  a  sort  of 
line  across  the  road. 

Which  of  the  two  recognized  the  omens  of  the  situation 
first,  is  not  certain.  Probably  both  saw,  at  nearly  the  same 
moment,  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  a  gross  imprudence,  to 
wander  so  far  away  into  the  wood  from  an  Italian  city,  at 
midnight.  They  were  in  for  it,  beyond  a  question.  There  was 
but  one  thing  certain  :  they  were  in  the  hands  of  half-a-dozen 
(more  or  less)  of  brigands,  of  however  mild  and  modern  a 
type.  Whatever  the  thoughts  of  the  Colonel,  the  Governor 
realized  all  this  after  a  moment,  and  stood  still  to  consider. 
Without  arms - 

Up  to  that  moment,  he  had  not  remembered  what  he  carried 
in  his  hand — the  miserable  little  purchase  of  Ferrara.  But 
what  good,  even  that,  against  such  odds,  and  the  number  no 
doubt  armed?  Armed?  Yes,  indeed  they  were,  for  a  knife 
gleamed  in  the  moonlight,  and  the  sight  was  not  a  pleasant  one. 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


256 

Just  then  something  else  gleamed.  With  an  oath  that  need 
not  be  recorded,  the  Colonel  jerked  his  dirk  from  its  sword- 
stick,  as  it  chanced,  just  under  one  of  the  lines  of  light.  It 
flashed  so  sharply  that  the  Governor’s  eyes  caught  the  gleam 
like  a  blaze.  Then  he  remembered  that  his  own  tooth-pick 
had  a  sort  of  a  glitter,  and  jerked  it  from  the  cane.  Another 
flash,  presumably,  to  more  eyes  than  those  of  the  two  com¬ 
panions. 

For  in  the  next  instant,  of  all  those  figures,  there  was  not 
one  within  sight.  If  they  had  appeared  very  suddenly,  they 
had  disappeared  with  even  more  celerity.  Whether  the 
ground  had  swallowed  them,  or  they  had  managed  to  dodge 
behind  trees  and  into  the  thickest  shade  with  a  quickness 
beyond  all  calculation,  neither  the  Colonel  or  the  Governor 
knew,  nor  have  they  ever  known.  But  they  knew,  the  next 
moment,  as  without  a  word  more  they  turned  and  walked 
back  toward  Florence,  that  they  had  nearly  witnessed  a  little 
of  the  mild  brigandage  under  which  Italy  still  suffers  when 
the  place  and  circumstances  are  favorable  to  it — and  that 
probably  nothing  saved  them  from  a  very  much  worse  adven¬ 
ture,  except  the  flash  of  those  two  swords  in  the  moonlight, 
in  the  eyes  of  half-a-dozen  of  those  diluted  robbers  who  had 
no  fancy  for  purses  if  they  were  to  be  accompanied  by  cold 
steel  ! 

“  Robbers  ?  Yes,  of  course  they  were  robbers  !”  replied  an 
American  resident,  questioned  on  the  point  the  next  morning. 
“And  you  came  off  very  well,  thanks  to  what  you  carried, 
and  the  moonlight,  no  doubt !  That  distance  below  the 
Cascine,  at  midnight,  is  more  romantic  than  safe,  let  me  tell 
you  ;  and  it  would  be  even  less  safe  if  the  fellows  were  not 
cowards  in  the  face  of  anything  looking  like  a  sword  or 
snapping  like  the  cocking  of  a  revolver.” 


2£2£2£. 

VERONA;  AND  OVER  THE  BRENNER. 

“  There  is  nothing  to  see  in  Verona,”  said  a  casual  acquaint¬ 
ance  to  the  Governor,  in  the  railway  train  between  Bologna 
and  the  city  of  the  North,  when  the  official  had  expressed  a 
half  intention  of  stopping  over  there  for  a  few  hours. 

“  Nothing  ?” 

“  Well,  next  to  nothing.  Let  me  see  ;  there  is  some  kind  of 
a  tumble-down  old  Roman  building  there,  I  believe;  and  yes, 
Shakespeare  wrote  something  about  it :  what  was  it?  Oh,  the 
‘Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona.’  I  would  scarcely  stop  over,  I 
think,  for  that.” 

From  that  instant  the  pause  at  Verona,  if  before  doubtful, 
was  determined  upon  ;  for  let  it  be  said  that  the  Governor  has 
never  yet  been  known  to  float  down  stream  when  it  was  pos¬ 
sible  to  swim  up,  To  be  informed  that  “there  was  nothing  to 
see  at  Verona”  was  to  become  at  once  impressed  that  it  must 
be  one  of  the  most  interesting  places  on  earth.  So  the  ac¬ 
quaintance  terminated,  at  least  for  the  time,  by  that  special 
traveler  “  stopping  over  ”  at  Verona  and  allowing  his  acquaint¬ 
ance  to  go  on  at  once  to  Trent  and  Innspruck. 

“  Nothing  to  see  ”  was  it !  Probably  there  are  not  really 
more  than  four  or  five  spots  on  earth,  covering  no  more  space, 
better  worth  the  expenditure  of  at  least  a  few  hours,  than 
Verona.  And  this  which  follows  is  what  he  saw,  was  told,  and 
thought,  during  the  few  hours  succeeding  that  conversation. 

Nothing  to  see,  was  there  ?  If  there  had  been  nothing  else, 
it  was  worth  something  to  catch  the  first  sight  of  the  Adige, 
to  be  afterwards  followed  at  some  length  under  that  and  a  dif¬ 
ferent  name.  The  Adige,  forming  as  complete  and  perfect  a 
letter  S  in  its  passage  through  the  town,  as  that  formed  by  the 
Grand  Canal  at  Venice — only  with  the  marked  difference  that 
it  was  not  reversed.  A  rather  turbid  river,  of  good  width  and 
somewhat  rapid  current,  crossed  by  some  half  a  dozen  of 


258 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


bridges,  the  most  important,  except  the  railway  bridge,  lying 
at  near  the  centre  of  the  town.  Then  the  fortifications,  which 
are  modern  and  equally  beautiful  and  formidable,  Verona  be¬ 
ing  one  of  the  famous  cities  of  the  “  Quadrilateral,’’  so  much 
talked  of  when  Italy  and  Austria  were  fighting  that  long  bat¬ 
tle  for  and  against  freedom.  The  military  mind  of  the  Gover¬ 
nor  had  much  pleasure  in  examining  them  and  pronouncing 
them  very  perfect  in  their  environment  and  defence  of  the 
town,  until  an  official,  observing  him  with  a  note-book  and 
pencil,  gave  him  notice  that  no  making  drawings  of  the  works 
was  allowed,  and  that  he  had  better  move  on.  At  least  this  is 
supposed  to  have  been  what  he  said  :  the  Governor,  whose 
Italian  is  the  reverse  of  perfect,  is  not  too  sure.  He  “  moved 
on,”  however,  and  having  by  that  time  become  additionally  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  military  spirit,  went  away  to  another  fortifi¬ 
cation,  something  older,  and  built  by  hands  sometime  mould¬ 
ered  away  to  dust — the  Amphitheatre. 

Seriously,  Verona,  in  this  detail,  has  a  remain  quite  equal 
to  the  Coliseum  at  Rome — much  more  perfect,  if  lacking  in 
the  immense  size  of  its  rival.  It  stands  on  the  Piazza  Vit¬ 
torio  Emmanuele,  not  far  from  what  is  now  the  centre  of  the 
city.  Traditionally,  the  Amphitheatre  is  said  to  have  been 
built  by  the  Emperor  Diocletian,  in  A.  D.,  284.  It  was  cer¬ 
tainly  “  sat  upon”  (to  use  a  modern  phrase)  by  a  greater  than 
he,  in  1805  ;  for  there  is  a  vain-glorious  inscription  on  it, 
noting  the  repairs  made  by  Napoleon,  when  Italy  formed  only 
a  small  part  of  his  conquered  world.  It  has  been  546  feet 
long,  by  436  feet  wide,  with  a  height  of  106  feet,  and  the  size 
of  the  arena  of  combat  239  feet  by  141.  No  less  than  forty- 
five  tiers  of  seats  surround  the  arena;  and  it  is  estimated  that 
as  many  as  35.000  spectators  may  at  once  have  enjoyed  what¬ 
ever  attractive  spectacle  of  blood  was  there  presented.  Of 
the  outer  wall,  two-storied  and  pierced  with  round-headed 
arches,  only  a  portion  remains,  black  with  age,  as  it  may  well 
be.  Within,  all  is  nearly  perfect;  and  some  of  the  arrange¬ 
ments  for  caging  and  letting  out  the  beasts  remain  ;  so  that  if 
another  Diocletian  should  ever  want  a  Coliseum  for  combats, 


VERONA,  AND  THE  BRENNER. 


259 


in  Italy,  he  can  come  nearer  to  finding  it  at  Verona  than  else¬ 
where.  It  is  doubtful,  all  things  considered,  if  there  is  a  more 
perfect  or  more  interesting  Roman  relic  on  earth  ;  and  any 
one  who  passes  Verona  without  visiting  it,  loses  one  of  the 
opportunities  of  a  lifetime. 

So  much  for  the  Romans,  in  this  connection  :  now  for  some¬ 
thing  very  different,  or  not  very  different,  as  the  case  may  be  ! 
No  remains  of  any  of  the  scenes  or  characters  of  the  “Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona”  are  alleged  to  exist ;  but  the  tomb  of 
Juliet  is  shown  in  a  side  chapel  of  what  was  once  an  old  Fran¬ 
ciscan  Monastery  ;  and  after  that,  who  can  doubt  the  veracity 
of  Shakspeare’s  very  best  love-play,  “  Romeo  and  Juliet  ?” 
The  fact  that  this  battered  old  trough  was  evidently  once  a 
Roman  sarcophagus,  a  thousand  years  old  when  Juliet  is 
alleged  to  have  lived,  does  not  affect  the  case  to  any  extent. 
The  miserable  old  remain  will  continue  to  be  shown,  and  its 
genuineness  will  continue  to  be  certified  to  (for  a  few  cop¬ 
pers) — what  more  can  be  desired,  or  what  more  demanded  ? 

Is  the  Governor,  then,  a  disbeliever  in  the  Sbakspeare 
memorials  of  Verona,  after  endorsing  those  of  Venice  ? 
Perish  the  thought !  No — he  believes  in  them  ;  all  of  theny 
at  least,  not  too  difficult  to  swallow:  he  cannot  deglutate  a 
Roman  sarcophagus  of  red  Verona  marble,  even  for  Juliet 
and  the  immortal  genius  who  recalled  her  into  being  under 
that  name.  For  the  story  of  “Romeo  and  Juliet”  was  not 
original  with  Shakspeare  :  only  touched  by  him  with  the  fin¬ 
ger  of  supreme  genius,  to  be  no  more  forgotten  forever,  while 
the  thousand-and-one  of  similar  interest,  not  thus  touched,  die 
with  the  leaves  of  their  year.  There  is  an  old  and  narrow 
house  in  the  Strada  San  Sebastian  (said  to  have  been  once 
the  Strada  Capelletti)  where  the  hat  which  formed  the  cogni¬ 
zance  of  the  Montagues  still  hangs  over  the  entrance  door. 
It  is  called  the  house  of  Juliet’s  family  ;  and  any  one  may  see  it 
who  will — as  also  learn  from  the  local  legends  that  the  date  of 
the  tragedy  was  no  further  back  than  the  fourteenth  century, 
when  the  Scaligers  ruled  Verona,  the  “  Escalus,  Prince  of 
Verona,”  of  the  play,  having  been  Bartolomeo  della  Scala 


18 


260 


O  VER  HALF  EUROPE. 


(Scaliger),  then  in  power.  But  any  one  may  not  chance  to 
have  the  exceptional  fortune  of  the  Governor,  and  to  be  in¬ 
troduced  into  that  house  and  into  the  bedchamber  of  Juliet. 

The  official  was  laughing,  somewhat  sardonically,  at  the 
so-called  Tomb  of  Juliet,  when  a  gentlemen  resident  in  the 
city  ( one  “gentleman  of  Verona,”  not  two!)  came  up  and 
accosted  him.  “  You  are  right,”  the  gentleman  said,  speaking 
in  broken  English,  all  the  more  melodious  for  having  a  touch 
of  the  bocca  Toscana  in  it.  “You  are  right :  that  is  not  Juliet’s 
tomb,  nor  has  it  any  claim  to  be  so  called.  But  there  are 
realities  of  that  story  in  Verona.  You  know  that  the  story  was 
a  real  one,  I  doubt  not !”  The  Governor  assented  to  that 
knowledge,  and  the  gentleman  went  on.  “There  is  a  house, 
not  far  away,  which  is  said  to  have  been,  and  probably  was, 
the  residence  of  the  Capulets,  Juliet’s  parents.  Many  people 
see  it.  But  there  is  another,  with  the  hat  over  the  door,  as 
well ;  and  if  you  will  go  with  me  there,  I  will  show  you  some¬ 
thing  worth  your  seeing.” 

Only  too  thankful,  the  Governor  accompanied,  the  two  ex¬ 
changing  a  few  words  on  the  way,  but  nothing  with  reference 
to  the  tragedy.  At  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distance,  in  a 
somewhat  narrow  street,  the  gentleman  stopped  at  a  door 
where  certainly  hung  emblazoned  the  hat  of  the  Capulets,  and 
knocked.  It  was  opened,  and  the  Governor  noticed  that  the 
female  servant,  seeing  his  companion,  bowed  very  low.  Some 
words  passed  between  them,  in  Italian  (not  here  given,  for  rea¬ 
sons  obvious  to  any  one  who  reads  of  the  Guardina  Cova,  at 
Milan);  then  the  gentleman  motioned  to  his  companion  to  enter; 
both  did  so,  and  the  door  closed.  The  chaperon  conducted 
his  protege  through  a  somewhat  long  passage,  threw  open  a 
door,  and  showed  him  into  a  small  chamber,  with  two  diminu¬ 
tive  windows,  and  a  bed,  with  white  curtains,  recessed  into  the 
wall.  The  room  was  papered  after  the  modern  fashion,  but 
showed  extreme  age  in  its  building  and  arrangement.  The 
recess  was  formed  in  a  round-headed  arch  extending  to  the 
floor;  and  between  the  partially  drawn  curtains  showed  a 
narrow  bed,  with  a  background  like  the  wall. 


VERONA,  AND  THE  BRENNER. 


261 


'‘This,”  said  the  gentleman,  drawing  back  the  white  cur¬ 
tains  with  the  care  of  handling  anything  sacred,  “  was  the 
residence  of  the  Capulefs  at  the  time  when  the  marriage  and 
death  of  their  daughter  occurred  ;  and  this  bedchamber  and 
framework  of  bed,  as  I  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  being 
assured,  were  those  of  Juliet  while  still  residing  in  the  house 
of  her  kindred.” 

Very,  very  old — the  recess,  the  bed  frame,  and  all  belonging 
to  it — very  old,  everything  but  the  paper  on  the  walls.  Who 
the  gentleman  was,  the  Governor  had,  and  has,  no  means  of 
ascertaining,  though  he  is  satisfied  that  he  was  a  man  of 
mark.  There  seemed  no  motive  for  deception  ;  and  the 
fact  remains  that  undoubtedly,  with  what  he  considered 
good  reason,  he  believed  that  bed-frame  to  have  borne  the 
couch  of  Juliet,  and  perhaps  the  little  and  very  old  glass  of 
chamfered  Venetian  make,  on  the  wall,  to  have  mirrored  that 
young  face  many  a  morning.  Is  there  any  reason  why  the 
Governor  should  not  so  believe,  likewise  ?  None — he  does  so 
believe.  He  believes  that  in  that  little  old  chamber  he  really 
stood  beside  the  coved  recess  where,  in  her  maiden  innocence, 
slept  the  type  of  the  Italian  love-girl  so  famous  over  all  the 
world.  And  so  believing,  he  smiled  a  little  as  he  left  the  old 
city  on  the  Adige  an  hour  later,  at  the  assertion  of  his  chance- 
met  friend  of  the  morning,  “  that  there  was  nothing  to  see 
in  Verona.” 

The  departure  for  the  North,  over  the  Brenner  Railway,  was 
made'  at  a  little  after  two  P.  M.  the  same  day.  (See  how 
much  can  be  crowded  within  a  few  hours,  when  the  traveller  is 
very  ardent  and  very  much  in  a  hurry  !)  The  road  lay  along 
the  Adige,  as  it  was  to  follow  it  under  that  name  and  as  the 
Etsch,  all  the  way  to  Botzen.  Very  soon  after  leaving  Verona, 
came  into  view  Lago  de  Garda,  much  the  largest  of  the  Italian 
lakes,  and  quite  the  equal  of  any  of  them  in  beauty — perhaps, 
some  day  when  the  law  of  comparisons  becdmes  more 
thoroughly  understood,  to  be  reckoned  the  only  rival  in  the 
world  to  California’s  Lake  Tahoe,  which  it  somewhat  resem¬ 
bles  in  the  rising  of  the  great  peaks  behind  it,  northward  and 


262 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


westward,  and  the  intense  blueness  of  water  that  apparently 
might  save  the  laundress  any  outlay  for  indigo.  It  was 
gloriously  beautiful, that  summer  afternoon,  mountain-hemmed, 
flashing  under  a  fresh  breeze,  and  seeming  to  lend  life  and 
activity  to  the  whole  landscape. 

Before  four  o’clock  that  afternoon,  past  Pescantini,  Dome- 
gliari,  Peri,  &c.,  the  Governor  was  bidding  regretful  farewell  to 
Italy,  which  had  shown  him  so  much  in  so  few  days,  and  at 
the  little  station  of  Ala  was  entering  the  Austrian  Tyrol,  ot 
which  the  western  mountains  had  shown  so  grandly  a  few 
days  before  from  the  Lake  of  Constance.  He  was  also 
entering  that  Grand  Pass  of  the  Lower  Tyrol,  extending  all 
the  way  to  Innspruck,  and  retaining  its  picturesque  charm 
throughout.  Poetry,  meanwhile,  came  to  a  renewed  recog¬ 
nition,  not  very  long  after  entering  on  the  travel  of  the 
afternoon,  in  a  glimpse  of  an  old  Castle,  east  of  the  railway, 
near  Lizzana,  in  which  Dante  resided  in  the  first  two  or  three 
years  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  exiled  from  Florence  for 
his  attachment  to  the  Ghibellines  ;  and  the  thought  would 
obtrude  that,  barring  the  feeling  of  exile,  such  a  residence  would 
not  be  an  unwelcome  one  for  many  a  poet  who  had  never 
become  mixed  up  with  any  political  troubles  whatever! 

At  five  the  train  was  at  the  station  of  Trent  (German 
“  Trient  ”),  broadly  bosomed  away  among  the  rugged  hills,  and 
showing  not  many  details  from  the  road,  little  more  than  a 
glimpse  being  caught  of  the  old  Castle  Buon  Consiglio,  rising 
over  the  town,  once  an  archiepiscopal  residence,  now  a  cavalry 
barracks,  and  lower,  of  the  towers  of  the  Cathedral,  and  of 
the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  where  the  Council  of 
Trent,  almost  as  noted  as  that  of  Constance,  and  more  influ¬ 
ential  on  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  sat  with  small  intermis¬ 
sion  through  the  eighteen  years  from  1545  to  1563,  leading 
more  than  once  to  a  half-determination  on  the  part  of  some 
crowned  head  to  break  it  up  by  force  if  it  could  never  come 
to  an  end  in  any  other  way.  However,  the  Council  of  Trent 
rules  no  longer,  at  least  on  the  railways ;  and  the  travellers 


VERONA ,  AND  THE  BRENNER. 


263 


were  not  even  examined  as  to  their  religious  belief  (some  of 
them  might  have  fared  badly  if  they  had  been  !)  before  speed¬ 
ing  away  up  the  Tyrol. 

Beyond  Trent,  very  soon  the  sides  of  the  road  assumed  a 
feature  specially  characteristic  of  the  region — the  rocks  very 
high,  upright,  and  forming  a  sort  of  continuous  line,  although 
jagged  :  after  the  manner  of  the  Palisades  of  Ihe  Hudson. 
Along  the  cultivated  portions  of  the  route — many  of  them 
small  patches  and  little  more — the  cornfield  and  the  vine 
became  the  ruling  features.  The  Adige  changed  to  be  the 
Etsch,  became  more  and  more  rapid  and  riotous,  and  showed 
more  and  more  the  fact  that  it  was  in  rapid  descent.  Night 
was  coming  on  ;  but  even  without  that  cause,  the  weather  was 
cooling  rapidly,  in  the  ascent  of  the  gorges  of  the  Tyrol ;  and 
now  and  again,  ahead,  the  snow-peaks  began  to  show  in  the 
distance  and  to  add  one  more  ennobling  feature  to  what  was 
all  the  while  full  of  interest  and  wild  beauty. 

At  seven  they  were  at  Botzen,  well  up  in  the  pass,  as  had 
been  for  some  time  indicated  by  the  laboring  breath  of  the 
engine.  A  fine  old  town,  visible  even  in  the  coming  dusk, 
with  the  aid  of  the  rising  moon,  only  a  little  past  the  full.  In 
the  Middle  Ages,  the  great  entrepot  of  all  the  commerce 
between  Venice  and  the  North,  and  even  now  the  chief  com¬ 
mercial  town  ot  the  Tyrol.  One  feature  of  interest  showed 
Itself,  even  from  the  train — the  splendid  open-work  tower  of 
the  Gothic  Parish  Church,  said  to  date  back  to  the  14th 
Century,  and  this  detail  and  the  tesselated  roof  certainly 
wonderfully  handsome.  Here  commenced  the  Eisack  River, 
at  Botzen  forming  a  junction  with  the  Talfer,  and  the  two  flow¬ 
ing  away  to  become  the  Etsch  and  the  Adige  ;  and  here  com¬ 
menced  even  grander  developments  of  the  Tyrolese  scenery, 
with  some  of  the  tar  peaks  of  the  Dolomite  Mountains  showing 
white  and  needle-like  northwestward. 

It  was  well  along  in  the  night,  and  the  moon  high  in  heaven, 
making  another  day.  The  train  had  passed  Atzwang,  Klausen, 
Brixen,  and  Franzensfeste,  and  they  were  running  along  the 
really  tremendous  palisaded  Valley  of  the  Eisack,  between  the 


264 


OVER  HALF  EUROPE. 


latter  place  and  Sterzing,  when  the  Governor  saw  what  he 
has  since  found  to  be  an  actual  culmination  of  Tyrolese 
scenery,  equally  odd  and  impressive,  in  the  awful  height  of 
the  palisading  rocks,  with  towers  covering  them  in  many 
places,  at  the  very  thought  of  climbing  to  one  of  which  the 
unaccustomed  mind  makes  the  whole  body  shudder,— and 
when  he  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  fellow-traveller  one  of  those 
legends  which  give  the  very  flavor  of  romance  to  so  many  of 
those  old  passes  and  their  strongholds.  At  the  time,  they 
were  running  along  immediately  under  a  range  of  those 
perpendicular  rocks,  at  the  left,  lifting  themselves  not  less 
than  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  feet  directly  over  the 
valley  ;  and  at  one  point  a  large  square  old  tower  stood  at  the 
very  edge,  at  the  extreme  top,  seeming  to  line  with  the  face  of 
the  rock.  The  thought  of  residence  there,  and  of  opening  a 
window  over  the  descent,  seemed  maddening.  The  Governor 
said  so  much  to  his  travelling  companion. 

“Yes,”  was  the  reply.  “  And,  by  the  way,  that  tower,  and 
the  face  of  it  at  which  we  are  looking,  had  a  window  opened, 
once,  to  some  effect.  An  unwilling  bride  was  taken  by  her 
enforced  bridegroom  to  a  bridal-chamber  in  one  of  those 
rooms.  What  occurred  during  the  night,  no  one  ever  knew, 
though  many  guessed.  In  the  morning  a  gibbering  maniac 
woman  sat  on  the  side  of  the  bed,  when  some  of  the  alarmed 
family  forced  open  the  door  of  the  room.  One  of  the  windows 
was  open,  and  the  bridegroom  was  gone.  They  found  him,  in 
very  small  pieces,  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks,  more  than  a  thou¬ 
sand  feet  below  ;  and  no  one  doubted  that,  seizing  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  his  having  gone  to  the  window  and  opened  it,  at 
some  time  during  the  night,  she  had  pushed  him  out  headlong. 
Horrible,  was  it  not?” 

“  Horrible  !  Yes,  and  just,  if  the  whole  story  is  truly  told,” 
replied  the  Governor.  "Moral:  Don’t  force  women,  to 
marriage  or  to  anything  else  !  It  seldom  pays.” 

There  was  only  a  moonlight  glimpse,  a  weird  and  half  unreal 
one,  to  be  caught  of  Sterzing,  which  is  said  to  have  some  fine 
old  picturesque  buildings  and  arcades.  Better  views  were 


VERONA,  AND  THE  BRENNER 


265 


caught,  however,  just  before  reaching  it,  of  no  less  than 
three  old  castles,  their  similarity  of  termination  in  names 
showing  the  German  favorite  synonym  for  “  castle  ” — “stein.” 
These  weie  Welfenstein,  Reifenstein,  and  Sprechenstein  ;  and 
they  might  all  have  been  robber  holds,  from  their  appearance, 
and  probably  were  so,  in  days  not  very  long  passed  away. 
Also  before  reaching  Sterzing,  when  in  the  narrow  pass  or 
defile,  near  Mittwald,  called  since  1809,  the  “  Sachsensklemme,” 
(Saxon’s  Chasm),  a  reminder  of  much  more  modern  and 
bloodier  history  came,  in  the  knowledge  that  in  this  pass,  so 
dark  and  gloomy  as  almost  equally  to  shut  away  moonlight 
and  daylight,  Napoleon’s  Marshal,  Lefebvre,  Duke  of  Dant- 
zig,  was  defeated  by  the  Tyrolese  in  that  year,  half  his  army 
slaughtered,  and  some  thousand  of  his  Saxon  troops  taken 
prisoners. 

Through  a  long  curved  tunnel,  after  leaving  Sterzing,  and 
over  so  many  other  curves  that  they  seemed  capable  of  con¬ 
fusing  the  engine  ;  and  then  through  a  succession  of  wild 
scenery  (said  to  be  magnificent  in  the  daylight),  Brenner  was 
reached — the  top  of  the  pass,  and  the  watershed  between  the 
Adriatic  and  the  Black  Sea — the  Sill  running  northward,  to 
the  Inn  and  the  larger  rivers  of  Poland  ;  and  the  Eisack 
taking  its  course  back  to  the  Adige,  the  Adriatic  and  the 
Mediterranean. 

Here  a  sensation.  It  had  been  raining  heavily,  a  day  or 
two  before,  on  the  Tyrol,  however  dry  in  some  other  sections 
ot  the  Continent.  Part  of  the  track,  beyond  Brenner,  and 
past  the  little  green  lake,  the  Brenner  See,  had  been  washed 
away  ;  and  sufficient  time  had  not  yet  been  given  to  re-lay  it. 
How  long  before  it  would  be  laid  ?  A  day,  at  least.  What  had 
been  done,  already?  Oh,  the  roadbed  had  been  repaired 
and  the  iron  rails  laid  down  over  the  deep  ravine  of  the  Sill, 
but  they  were  unfastened,  and  they  could  not  be  fastened 
before  well  along  the  next  day.  Humph  !  that  day’s  delay 
would  cost  several  of  the  passengers  by  the  train  their  appoint¬ 
ments,  and  at  least  two  of  them  their  steamers  at  Liverpool ! 
What  was  to  be  done  !  what  could  be  done  ?  Listen  !  A  prop- 


266 


O  VER  HALF  E  UR  OPE. 


osition  to  the  engineer,  and  made  by  an  American.  “Take 
us  down  that  pass,  if  you  dare!’’  “What? — with  the  rails 
unfastened  and  that  fearful  depth  beneath?  Do  you  under¬ 
stand  what  you  ask?”  “  Perfectly,  we  cannot  wait,  and  we 
must  go  on.”  “No.”  “  If  I  procure  you  the  voices  of  every 

person  on  the  train,  and  if  we  give  you  (never  mind  what  sum), 
how  then  ?  ”  “  Then  ”  with  the  pause  of  a  moment  for  thought 
— “  then,  yes.” 

Fifteen  minutes  later,  the  voices  of  every  one  of  the  forty- 
seven  on  the  train,  with  the  exception  of  two  who  preferred 
remaining  over  at  Brenner,  were  obtained  ;  and  ten  minutes 
still  later,  the  train  was  on  the  way — where,  not  even  the 
engineer  knew.  How  far  the  track  was  in  that  condition,  the 
Governor  did  not  know,  and  did  not  care  to  enquire.  It  is 
enough  to  state  that  the  view  down  into  the  five  or  seven 
hundred  feet  of  the  Sill  ravine,  at  the  very  edge,  and  with  the 
knowledge  that  no  nail  held  iron  to  wood,  was  somewhat  ex- 
citinv,  not  to  say  startling.  But,  though  some  breaths  may 
have  been  held  for  a  time,  no  accident  occurred  ;  and  without 
many  minutes  passed  in  the  suspense  of  an  undeniable  and  fear¬ 
ful  risk,  that  risk  was  mastered.  The  full  speed  of  the  train 
was  resumed  ;  and  it  rushed  on  through  tunnels  and  over  em¬ 
bankments  of  much  picturequeness,  along  the  Schirmer  Thai, 
by  Steinach,  and  Matrey,  through  the  great  tunnel  of  Isel, 
and  past  the  very  old  Abbey  of  Wiltau.  Some  of  the  last 
objects  were  becoming  clearer  in  the  light  of  the  early  dawn, 
as  they  rushed  and  rumbled  into  Innspruck,  with  the  passage 
of  the  Brenner  proper  accomplished,  and  only  plain  rail, 
through  whatever  noble  scenery,  lying  between  them  and  the 
options  of  Vienna,  Munich  or  the  West. 


RETURNING  TO  TPIE  PARIS  EXPOSITION— THE 
TROC-ADERO. 

It  now  becomes  necessary  to  return  from  indiscriminate 
wanderings  about  Europe,  to  the  Exposition  at  Paris,  in 
which  all  the  opportunity  originated,  and  from  which  all  the 
foregoing  excursions  maybe  said  to  have  been  made.  All  the 
account  of  the  Opening  of  the  Exposition,  and  all  the  attempts 
at  description  of  the  buildings,  it  will  be  remembered,  came 
from  the  pen  of  that  habitual  victim  to  the  Governor,  “  Our 
Boy  Tommy.”  For  the  following,  and  much  closer  dealing 
with  the  Exposition,  the  Governor  himself  is  responsible  ; 
though  it  is  possible  that  “  Tommy  ”  may  be  once  more  forced 
into  service,  in  the  description  of  some  of  the  events  con¬ 
nected  with  it,  occurring  long  after  the  Governor’s  departure 
from  Paris,  and,  indeed,  after  all  the  earlier  portions  of  the 
work  had  assumed  shape. 

The  “  return  ”  was  made  from  the  South,  as  some  of  the 
previous  papers  may  indicate.  It  is  of  no  consequence,  and 
does  not  involve  the  possibility  of  any  description,  if  it 
occurred  by  means  of  a  run  from  Milan  and  Turin,  by  Susa, 
through  the  temporary  gloom  but  extraordinary  speed  and 
time-saving  of  the  Mount  Ccnis  Tunnel,  and  thence  through 
the  Maurienne  Valley  of  Savoy,  by  Culoz,  Bourg,  Macon, 
Dijon,  Tonnerre,  Montereau,  and  all  that  long  and  pleasant 
route  of  the  Paris,  Lyons  and  Mediterranean  Railway,  to  the 
spot  most  completely  opposed  to  all  the  late  experiences, 
and  one  more  and  longer  glimpse  at  the  great  world’s 
gathering. 

In  his  earlier  visit  to  Paris  and  the  Exposition,  the  Gover¬ 
nor,  be  it  understood,  had  done  somewhat  of  that  “putting 
the  evil  day  afar  off,”  said  to  be  characteristic  of  the  luxury- 
loving  and  the  self-indulgent.  He  had  gone  into  the  sacred 
grounds — true  ;  into  both  the  Palaces,  and  wandered  through 


268 


PARIS  IjST  78. 


them,  rather  aimlessly,  and  with  a  sort  of  impression  that  the 
man  who  should  come  up  to  him,  in  one  of  the  avenues,  and 
say:  “Ha!  old  Governor! — looking  at  everything,  I  see! — 
going  to  write  about  it  all,  eh  ?”  would  at  once  have  been 
knocked  down  or  treated  with  other  contumely  quite  as  effec¬ 
tive.  Now,  the  time  of  self-indulgence  was  over,  and  (practical 
old  fellow  that  he  is  !)  he  accepted  the  necessity  with  alacrity, 
if  not  with  effusion. 

One  of  his  first  penances,  it  is  true,  would  have  been  con¬ 
sidered  a  pleasure  by  many — nothing  else  than  attendance 
at  one  of  the  concerts  given  in  the  Salle  des  Fetes  of  the 
Trocadero  Palace,  in  which  attendance  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
observing  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  this  type  meeting-place 
of  the  world's  music-lovers.  That  he  heard  some  good  music, 
there  and  then,  goes  without  saying  ;  as  Paris  has  not  the 
habit  of  offering  second-class  entertainments  on  such  occa¬ 
sions.  and  the  orchestra  giving  the  concert  was  one  of  mark, 
from  one  of  the  very  homes  of  musical  art.  But  the  eye  was 
feasted,  at  the  same  time,  quite  as  much  as  the  mind.  For  let 
it  be  understood  that  the  Salle  des  Fetes  immediately  under¬ 
lies  one  of  the  very  grandest  domes  in  the  world — a  consid¬ 
erable  number  of  feet  larger  in  circumference  than  that  of  St. 
Peter’s  at  Rome,  which  used  to  be  considered  unequalled  in 
dimensions  ;  and  let  it  be  additionally  known  that  both  in  the 
terrace  of  the  second  stage,  with  its  wilderness  of  statuary, 
and  in  the  auditorium  itself,  Art  has  been  married  to  Cost  in 
a  manner  reflecting  the  very  highest  credit  on  the  taste  of  the 
age. 

Absolutely  something  new  in  the  language  would  be  nec¬ 
essary,  so  to  describe  this  magnificent  music-room  as  to 
convey  any  idea  of  it  to  eyes  debarred  the  sight.  The  im¬ 
mense  size  of  the  dome  understood,  and  all  figures  carefully 
avoided,  let  us  say  that  from  all  sides,  sweeping  up  to  the  im¬ 
mense  pierced  and  leaf-foliated  centre  of  the  dome,  where 
slavish  following  of  old  precedents  might  so  easily  have 
placed  the  noble  painting  next  to  be  noticed,  to  breaking  of  the 
necks  of  all  would-be  observers, — are  the  segments  of  great 


BACK  TO  PARIS. 


2GD 


arches  springing  from  winged  caryatides  of  colossal  size  and  rich 
elaboration,  the  whole  forming  what  they  call,  architecturally, 
the  “  plafond  ;  ”  that  the  front  of  the  arch  of  the  proscenium  is 
filled  with  a  noble  mural  painting  by  M.  Charles  Lameire,  rep¬ 
resenting  “  France,  symbolized  as  Harmony,  receiving  the 
Nations,”  displaying  the  symbolical  characteristics  of  all 
countries,  and  itself  worth  the  crossing  of  an  ocean  to  behold 
and  study ;  that  immensed  arched  windows,  at  either  side, 
throw  the  whole  into  the  broadest  light  of  day,  which  would 
be  so  trying  to  anything  less  artistic  than  the  whole  concep¬ 
tion  ;  that  an  immense  organ  fills  the  extreme  rear  of  what 
would  be  the  stage  in  an  opera  house,  with  ranges  of  steps 
below  it  for  the  grouping  of  artists  ;  and  that,  partially  from 
the  latter  cause,  which  in  some  degree  seems  to  round  and 
complete  the  circle,  the  idea  of  the  antique  amphitheatre  is 
much  better  carried  out  than  in  any  other  assembly-room  for 
similar  purposes  ;  that  some  five  thousand  can  be  comfortably 
seated  in  the  elaborate  and  complete  auditorium,  with  its  vari¬ 
ous  ranges,  while  nearly  twice  the  number  can  find  the  tra¬ 
ditional  “  room  ;  ”  that  the  prevailing  colors  of  the  ornamen¬ 
tation  are  red  and  gold,  giving  an  effect  of  richness  impos¬ 
sible  with  any  other  combination  ;  and  that,  in  short  (and 
conceding  that  this  blundering  and  imperfect  description 
conve}rs  no  idea  whatever  of  it)  it  is  to-day  unquestionably 
the  noblest,  the  most  tasteful  and  most  thoroughly  com¬ 
plete  and  convenient  concert  hall  on  the  globe.  Need  it 
be  said  that  all  the  appointments  of  this  absolute  musical 
temple  of  the  gods  have  proved,  during  the  summer,  worthy 
of  the  superb  framing? 

On  this  occasion,  and  some  others  which  followed,  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  had  also  the  pleasure  of  refreshing  his  memory,  and 
adding  a  trifle  to  his  knowledge,  as  to  the  history  of  the  spot 
where  stands  this  Trocadero  Palace  of  the  Spanish  name, 
destined  to  play  so  important  a  part  in  future  Parisian  musical 
festivities.  In  this  case,  instead  of  Place  aux  dames!  let  us 
say  Place  a  Thistoire /  and  present  a  few  of  those  reminders, 
before  proceeding  to  any  additional  description  of  the  Palace 
and  the  views  in  it  and  from  it. 


270 


PARIS  IJST  78. 


The  readers  of  this  work  have  already  been  reminded,  that 
at  the  time  of  the  Exposition  of  1867,  the  Hill  of  the  Trocadero 
was  a  naked  one  leading  up  to  the  Place  de  la  Roi  de  Rome  at 
its  apex.  Also  that  the  name  it  bore  was  derived  from  that  of 
the  great  fort  at  Cadiz,  in  Spain,  some  half  century  ago,  in  the 
conflicts  of  which  the  French  troops  and  the  Duke  of  Augou- 
leme  took  part.  Going  back  very  much  further,  it  may  be  well 
to  know  that  this  hill  and  the  present  site  of  the  palace  is  the 
spot  where  stood  the  little  old  village  of  Chaillot  (the  name 
said  to  be  derived  from  the  very  old  Celtic  word  “  Chail,”  sig¬ 
nifying  “the  destruction  of  trees”).  It  seems  to  have  borne 
that  name  so  early  as  the  eleventh  century ;  and  the  history 
belonging  to  it  appears  to  have  been  very  varied,  as  a  French 
writer  (from  whom  we  translate)  remarks  that  “  it  was  succes¬ 
sively  a  feudal  manor,  a  royal  habitation,  then  a  seignorial  and 
a  bourgeoise  one,  then  an  abode  of  pleasure,  then  an  asylum  of 
religious  retreat,  then  a  necropolis  of  dethroned  sovereigns,  a 
theatre  where  the  misfortune,  the  ambition  and  the  glory  of 
different  epochs  found  a  refuge  and  a  resting  place — such  is  the 
history  of  this  corner  of  Paris.”  Clothaire  II.  gave  the  lands 
to  the  Church  of  Paris,  at  the  time  when  it  was  called  “  Nimio.” 
It  was  a  seigneurie  under  St.  Louis  ;  and  a  bourgeoise  named 
Arrode  held  it  and  the  noble  chateau,  and  became  Arrode- 
Chaillonel,  with  his  descendants  Signeurs  de  Chailleau.  Then 
an  advocate  of  the  Parliament  of  Paris  held  it ;  and  then  a  cer¬ 
tain  quasi  nobleman,  one  Guy  de  Levis,  from  whose  hands  it 
went  back  to  the  royal  by  forfeiture.  Louis  XI.  gave  it  to 
Philip  de  Comines,  Sieur  d’Argenton  and  his  historian,  as  part 
of  the  reward  for  leaving  the  service  of  Charles  the  Bold  of 
Burgundy,  and  entering  his  own. 

It  went  from  the  possession  of  de  Comines,  to  that  of 
Catherine  de  Medicis,  the  Italian  widow  of  Henry  II. ;  and 
then  to  that  of  Bassompierre,  Marshal  of  France,  author,  and 
enemy  of  Richelieu',  who  threw  him  into  the  Bastile.  The 
President  Janin  held  it  for  a  time  ;  Richelieu  resided  for  a  few 
months  in  the  Chateau,  in  his  time  become  almost  a  palace  ; 
a  certain  Count  deTilliere  became  the  owner,  and  from  him  it 


BACK  TO  PARIS. 


271 


became  the  property  and  asylum  of  Henrietta  Maria,  widowed 
queen  of  Charles  I.  of  England  ;  then,  after  a  time,  it  became 
the  Convent  of  the  Dames  of  the  Visitation  ;  and  here  it  was 
that,  at  the  feet  of  the  ladies  of  that  order,  poor  Louise 
Duchess  de  la  Valliere  threw  herself  in  remorse  and  peni¬ 
tence,  refusing  to  return  to  splendid  shame,  and  becoming 
Sister  Louise  de  la  Misericorde  of  the  Carmelites  of  the 
Faubourg  St.  Jacques.  After  a  long  time  of  this  religious 
occupation,  the  convent  was  suppressed  during  the  Revolu¬ 
tion  of  1789;  and  little  by  little  the  old  edifice  fell  into  decay 
and  was  destroyed.  Napoleon  I.,  at  the  height  of  the  glory  of 
his  empire,  determined  to  build  on  the  site  a  palace  for  his 
infant  son,  to  be  called  the  Palace  de  la  Roi  de  Rome  ;  and 
the  plans  were  drawn  and  the  foundations  laid,  before  first 
Elba  and  then  St.  Helena  broke  in  on  the  dreams  of  the  con¬ 
queror.  Oddly  enough,  the  dimensions  of  Napoleon’s  intended 
palace  were  precisely  those  lately  adopted  for  the  Palace  of 
the  Trocadero  ;  and  with  a  pretty  appropriateness,  the  re¬ 
membrance  of  what  was  to  hiave  been  is  preserved  in  the  name 
of  the  Place  de  la  Roi  de  Rome,  occasionally  given  to  the  fine 
open  ground  at  the  extremity  of  the  gentle  elevation,  and  that 
will  be  always  given  when  they  have  tired  of  temporarily  call¬ 
ing  it  the  “  Place  du  Trocadero.” 

This  is  a  somewhat  long  story;  but  has  it  necessarily  been 
a  dull  one?  Is  it  not  just  possible  that  many  of  those  who, 
during  the  season  of  1878,  have  paced  the  grand  colonnade  of 
the  Trocadero  Palace,  would  have  been  quite  as  glad  as  the 
Governor  to  know  how  much  of  the  history  of  France  has 
moved  in  other  days  over  the  very  spot  where  to-day  rest 
those  noble  foundations? 

And  now  to  return  from  the  historical  to  the  relation  of  per¬ 
sonal  observations.  There  followed,  after  the  concert  in  the 
Salle  des  Fetes,  something  that  would  have  been  entirely  out 
of  the  question  but  for  the  modern  dictum  that  “  nothing  is 
likely  but  the  unexpected,”  and  the  statement  of  the  gardener 
that  “his  pumpkin  did  not  weigh  so  much  as  he  had  calcu¬ 
lated,  and  he  never  thought  that  it  would.”  In  other  words, 


272 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


the  Governor,  who  in  a  long  course  of  varied  travel,  had  care- 
full)'  kept  himself  from  the  ascent  of  an)'  of  the  great  domes 
and  towers  from  the  tops  of  which  “  unequalled  views”  were 
promised,  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  eastermost  of  the  two 
lance-towers  dominating  the  Trocadero  on  either  side. 

Seen  from  without  and  below,  these  towers  are  square  or 
nearly  so  ;  and  in  the  cross-striping  of  their  color,  as  well  as 
the  sunken  centres  of  the  sides,  they  have  a  certain  reminder 
of  both  the  great  Campanile  at  Venice  and  that  other  and 
matchless  Campanile  built  by  Giotto  to  dominate  Florence. 
But  here,  even  beside  the  difference  in  length,  all  resemblance 
necessarily  ceases.  These  towers  are  both  “  telescoped  ” — in 
other  words,  the  tops  rise  diminished  from  broad  corniced  ter¬ 
minations  below  them  ;  and  these  upper  and  diminished  stories 
are  open — pierced  on  each  of  the  four  sides  by  immense  gothic¬ 
headed  openings,  each  with  a  railed  balcony  at  the  bottom  for 
observation  at  ease.  Then  the  crown  of  each  is  a  Moorish 
dome,  with  striped  curve,  a  knotted  pinnacle  at  the  apex,  and 
a  similar  pinnacle  at  either  corner.  So  much  said  and  the  fact 
added  that  the  sunken  centres  of  the  sides  are  slitted  like  the 
old  castles,  for  light  and  outlook,  and  that  at  the  top  of  each 
of  the  side  depressions,  below  the  cornice,  is  a  triple  open 
window,  at  least  some  idea  will  have  been  conveyed  of  these 
two  really  remarkable  structures  which  keep  the  low  Troca¬ 
dero  Palace  from  seeming  to  be  flat  and  sprawling,  and  actually 
lift  it  to  splendid  dignity. 

It  is  a  self-evident  fact  that  the  labor  of  making  the  ascent 
of  five  hundred  steps  is  considerable.  Deficiency  of  knee- 
power,  and  over  employment  of  the  breathing-apparatus,  are 
both  inevitable,  toiling  up  that  awful  five  hundred  steps,  with 
occasional  compensatory  glimpses  from  the  slits,  and  semi- 
occasional  moppings  of  the  hot  forehead  with  the  handker¬ 
chief  already  damp, — not  to  mention  remembrances,  the 
while,  making  the  present  yet  more  laborious,  of  other  long 
escaliers  similarly  and  sillily  climbed,  and  of  mountain  ascents 
that  began  in  misery  and  ended  in  sun-stroke.  Now  all  this 
might,  could  and  should  be,  and  most  certainly  would  be,  but 


BACK  TO  PARIS. 


273 


for  the  resources  of  the  modern  arts  of  convenience.  Steam 
and  water  have  combined  to  save  the  human  leg,  and  likewise 
the  human  lungs.  An  elevator,  known  as  the  “  ascenseur 
Edoux,”  carries  the  would-be  observer  up  to  the  open  win¬ 
dows  of  the  top  of  the  tower,  in  two  minutes ;  and  the 
Governor  acknowledges  that  all  the  preceding  has  been  a 
mere  practice  upon  human  sympathy,  and  that  he  went  up, 
with  very  moderate  expenditure,  and  with  no  outlay  except 
from  the  nervous  system  in  the  remembrance  that  elevators 
sometimes  “  come  down  by  the  run.” 

But  what  a  view  it  was,  from  the  top  of  that  tower,  with  the 
fear  of  tumbling  off  one  of  the  balconies,  or  being  pushed  off 
by  some  careless  fellow,  always  understood!  Overall  Paris, 
for  the  time  ;  above  it,  one  might  have  said,  with  the  bad  pun 
added,  of  being  “  above  all  its  vices  and  temptations.”  The 
eye  literally  ached  with  what  it  saw  ;  the  brain  reeled  a  little 
in  trying  to  take  in  that  marvellous  feast  of  wealth,  beauty 
and  life.  “  Tommy  ”  has  spoken  of  the  view  from  the  lower 
colonnade  of  the  Trocadero,  on  the  day  of  the  Opening;  but 
his  glance  had  no  more  relation  to  this,  than  that  of  a  six-footer 
walking  along  a  high-road,  to  the  vision  of  the  bird  flying 
over  the  fields  on  either  side  of  him.  Immediately  in  front,  the 
grounds  and  winding  walks  of  the  Trocadero  Gardens,  with 
buildings  picturesquely  scattered  here  and  there,  white  water 
flashing  down  from  the  great  Cascade,  the  greener}'-  of  trees 
and  plants  giving  the  necessary  relief  in  color,  and  amid  all, 
single  forms  and  groups  moving  incessantly  with  the  propor¬ 
tions  of  enlarged  ants.  Beyond,  only  a  little,  the  widened 
Pont  de  Jena,  spanning  the  Seine,  with  the  same  enlarged 
ants  crawling  over  it  in  hundreds.  Below  it,  the  Seine,  its 
bosom  flecked  here  and  there  with  moving  boats,  the  flash  of 
oars,  and  the  white  puffings  of  steam,  and  its  banks  crowded 
with  those  interested  in  the  various  exhibitions  established 
there.  Still  beyond,  the  grounds  of  the  Main  Palace,  with  the 
same  infinite  variety  shown  by  those  of  the  Trocadero,  not 
even  minus  the  water.  And  then  the  great  Main  Palace 
itself,  not  “  rising,”  now,  in  spite  of  its  really  respectable 


274 


PARIS  IN  78. 


height  and  the  altitude  of  its  flag-staffs,  but  entirely  subordi¬ 
nated,  so  that  the  view  was  principally  one  of  roof,  and  the 
whole  internal  arrangement  of  streets,  alleys,  separate  build¬ 
ings  and  annexes,  plainly  visible.  Here,  there,  everywhere, 
the  human  ants  to  be  seen,  moving,  crawling  ;  and  on  the  bridge 
and  along  the  various  avenues,  these  ants  seeming  to  be 
borne  along  at  speed  greater  than  their  own  by  other  and 
more  elongated  ants  pressed  into  their  service. 

This,  and  a  hundred  times  this,  as  the  near  view.  A  little 
beyond,  the  massive  buildings  of  the  Military  School.  A 
little  more  distant,  and  a  trifle  to  the  left,  the  gilded  dome  of 
the  Invalides.  Still  beyond,  again,  the  repeated  twin  towers 
of  St.  Clothilde  and  San  Sulpice.  Still  beyond,  the  noble 
pile  of  the  Lumembourg.  Crowning  the  hill,  the  dome  of 
the  Pantheon.  Sweeping  around  to  the  left,  where  the  silver 
curves  of  the  Seine  were  reached  again,  a  sombre  poem  in 
stone,  oddly  blending  History  and  Victor  Hugo  in  equal  pro¬ 
portions,  the  dark  pile  and  heavy  towers  of  Notre  Dame. 
Still  farther  eastward,  the  Tour  St.  Jacques,  the  matchless 
river  facade  of  the  Louvre,  and  immediately  in  front  of  it  the 
remains  of  the  poor  old  Tuileries. 

Stop  here  !  The  remains,  and  something  more.  From  amid 
the  ruins,  and  dominating  them,  something  ovoidly  globular, 
with  a  forest  of  hanging  cords  surrounding  it,  springs  to  the 
sky.  It  is  of  brownish  yellow,  and  even  at  this  distance 
colossal.  No  meteor,  however,  threatening  more  calamities 
to  the  Parisians — rather  an  omen  that  some  of  them  are 
“  making  money.”  In  other  words,  it  is  the  Ballon  Captif,  of 
such  immense  proportions  that  only  those  who  saw  the  Lowe 
balloon,  the  intended-to-be  flying  machine  of  Dr.  Solomon 
Andrews,  at  Houston  and  Mercer  streets,  New  York,  some 
fifteen  years  ago,  or  the  shameless  humbug  of  the  Graphic 
Goodsells  at  the  Brooklyn  Capitoline  grounds,  some  years 
later,  can  form  any  conception  of  the  monster.  In  this,  for  a 
Napoleon  (four  dollars),  any  man  anxious  for  aeronautic  honors 
may  make  an  ascension  of  some  fourteen  hundred  feet,  at' 
many  times  during  the  day — as  report  has  it  that  Mile.  Sarah 


BACK  TO  FAR1S. 


275 


Bernhardt,  the  celebrated  Parisian  actress,  has  been  doing 
nearly  every  day  during  the  season.  Opinions  divide  whether 
for  pure  air,  to  alleviate  incipient  consumption,  or  as  an  adver¬ 
tisement. 

In  the  which,  as  already  said,  any  one  may  go  up  for  a 
Napoleon  ;  but  in  the  which  not  all  do  go  up  who  make 
the  essay.  Le  voila !  They  tell  a  good  story — and  it 
may  already  have  crept  into  print,  but  the  Governor  has  not 
so  seen  it, and  what  matter? — of  two  Englishmen  who  at  first 
thought  that  they  would  make  the  ascension,  and  then  that 
they  would  not.  They  rushed  to  the  “  booking  office  ”  (no 
doubt  that  was  what  they  called  it)  with  precipitation  only 
less  assured  than  they  would  have  found  by  tumbling  out  of 
the  Ballon  Caplif.  “  But,  good  gracious  ! — why,  we  couldn’t 
pay  that,  you  know  ! — why,  it  is  an  awful  do,  by  Jove  !”  one 
said  to  the  other,  when  they  found  that  the  tariff  for  going  up 
was  nearly  sixteen  shillings  sterling.  “Of  course  we  couldn't 
pay  that!”  echoed  his  friend,  with  the  addition  of  certain 
expletives  indicating  a  desire  to  bestow  corporal  punishment 
on  the  “  muffs  ”  and  “  cads  ”  who  were  guilty  of  anything  “  so 
un-English  ”  as  overcharging.  But  at  that  moment  of  dis¬ 
couragement  the  eye  of  one  of  them  lighted  on  the  announce¬ 
ment  of  another  balloon  in  the  same  neighborhood— smaller, 
but  large  enough  for  all  practical  purposes — "Ballon  Libre." 
“  Halloo  !”  exclaimed  the  discoverer,  “  why,  don’t  you  see  that 
we  have  just  been  making  (sanguinaceous)  asses  of  ourselves  ! 
Sixteen  shillings  for  that,  when  yonder  is  one  for  nothing  !” 
His  companion  looked,  and  assented.  “  By  Jove  ! — so  there 
is  !  ‘  Ballon  Libre  ’ — ‘  libre  ’  means  ‘  free,’  of  course  :  now  we 

will  go  up,  you  know,  and  no  thanks  to  this  swindling 
Crapaud  !”  So  they  went  to  the  “  Ballon  Libre,”  and  took 
seats  in  it,  and  went  up — somewhat  farther  than  they  had 
intended,  on  a  small  circuit  of  the  boundless  upper  air,  paying 
each  one  hundred  francs,  four  pounds,  or  twenty  dollars,  when 
they  came  down.  After  which  they  may  or  may  not  have 
discovered  that  “libre”  has  more  than  one  meaning,  and 


19 


276 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


that  one  of  the  meanings  may  be  “  free  to  go  up  into  the  air  ” 
instead  of  “  free  of  cost  to  any  one  who  wishes  to  do  the  thing 
economically.” 

Necessarily,  apropos  of  the  balloon,  the  gaze  from  the  top 
of  the  Trocadero  tower  stopped  at  the  Louvre  and  the  Tuil- 
eries  Gardens.  But  in  the  case  of  the  often  checked  Gover¬ 
nor,  the  stop  was  only  temporary.  Sweeping  on,  it  came  back 
over  a  part  of  the  interval  and  took  in  the  Obelisk  of  Luxor 
in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  followed  up,  still  much  nearer,  to 
the  Arc  de  1’Etoile,  and  then  passing  back  along  the  Avenue 
through  the  Champs  Elysees,  embraced  the  line  of  the  Boule¬ 
vards  and  followed  them  easily  so  far  as  the  Porte  St.  Martin  ; 
whence  the  prominence  of  the  Heights  of  Belleville  and  the 
Buttes  Chaumont  drew  the  eye  away  and  prevented  anything 
more  than  a  mere  glance  southeastward  to  the  thin  needle 
marking  the  Place  de  la  Bastille,  and  the  white  glimmer  of 
Pere  la  Chaise.  Then  the  spectator  turned  in  the  other  di¬ 
rection  and  swept  the  Heights  of  Montmartre,  saw  the  green 
glimmer  of  the  Parc  Monceaux,  Neuilly  and  Courbevoie,  and 
the  Islands  of  Puteaux  and  Grand  Jatte,  coming  to  a  conclu¬ 
sion  with  Passy  and  Auteuil,  and  the  broad  leafage  of  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne,  with  St.  Cloud  visible  at  a  far  bend  of  the  Seine, 
and  Ville  d’Avray  and  the  other  heights  rising  toward  Ver¬ 
sailles.  Necessarily  all  this  was  absolutely  encircled  or  cut 
with  fortifications,  with  Mt.  Valerien,  Issy,  Vanvres,  and 
the  other  forts  that  could  not  save  Paris  from  the  spoiler, 
frowning  ominously  and  correcting  the  character  of  what  might 
else  have  been  lacking  in  redeeming  roughness. 

Really,  this  was  a  wondrous  view  over  modern  and  perfect 
Paris ;  and  the  visitor  who  has  failed  to  catch  it  or  the  rival 
approaching  it,  from  the  top  of  the  Arc  de  l'Etoile,  has  by  no 
means  mastered  all  the  geographical  position  of  the  “  fair  city, ’* 
and  may  well  devote  his  earliest  hour  of  opportunity  to  re¬ 
pairing  the  omission.  For  this,  if  forthis  only,  the  towers  of 
the  Trocadero  have  a  sufficient  raison  d'etre. 


ZEIZKIZXIXI. 

FROM  AND  AT  THE  TROCADERO  PALACE. 

The  Governor  was  by  no  means  satisfied  in  the  matter  of 
“  views,”  even  after  the  splendid  coup  d’oeil  caught  from  the 
Edoux  tower  of  the  Trocadero.  Several  more  remained  of 
much  less  altitude,  but  not  necessarily  of  less  interest;  and  at 
least  two  of  them  needed  to  be  taken  and  were  taken  “  accord- 
ingly,”  as  was  once  sententiously  observed  by  a  certain 
Colonel  who  was  in  the  habit  of  having  his  orders,  to  shoot 
people,  punctually  obeyed. 

The  first  of  these  was  from  the  Grand  Colonnade  of  the 
Trocadero,  over  the  grounds  and  the  Main  Palace — no  longer 
at  such  a  height  above  the  earth  as  to  obscure  all  particulars. 
In  this  glance,  quite  the  equal  of  the  preceding  in  beauty,  while 
so  much  more  limited  in  extent,  all  tne  outer  details  of  the 
Trocadero  side  of  the  Seine  came  very  favorably  into  view. 
Standing  on  this  colonnade,  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  centre 
and  in  front  of  the  Poste  Medical,  the  following  was  briefly 
the  scene  presented. 

A  little  to  the  left,  in  the  centre,  the  waters  of  the  Grand 
Cascade  went  leaping  down  from  beneath  the  outer  circle  of 
the  auditorium  of  the  Salle  des  Fetes,  throwing  up  innumer¬ 
able  jets  on  the  way,  and  losing  themselves  in  the  double¬ 
playing  and  statuary-studded  fountain  at  the  extremity.  At 
the  far  left,  nearly  in  front  of  the  terminatory  tower  of  the  left 
wing,  showed  the  placid  water  and  artistically  rough  rock- 
work  of  the  Aquarium.  A  little  to  the  left,  and  in  front  of  the 
Aquarium,  rose  the  large  Moorish  building  with  a  telescoped 
and  domed  tower,  representing  Algeria.  Near  the  latter,  little 
and  unpretending,  but  with  a  sad  interest,  was  the  modest  struc¬ 
ture  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine,  seeming  like  a  last  and  weak  pro¬ 
test  against  the  rape  of  those  provinces.  Below  the  Aquarium, 
and  leading  toward  the  centre  and  the  Quai  de  Billy,  were  a 
variety  of  minor  buildings  devoted  to  the  exhibitions  of  me- 


278 


FABIS  IN  ’78. 


teorology,  the  forests,  insects,  waters,  cements,  ores,  and  many 
manufactures.  On  the  right,  nearly  at  the  corresponding 
point  occupied  by  the  Algerian  building  on  the  left,  was  the 
large  and  characteristic  structure  of  the  Chinese,  with  that  of 
Siam  (very  small),  almost  immediately  behind  it  and  toward 
the  Seine.  Very  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  Chinese,  parallel  to 
the  river  and  forming  a  group  below  the  cross  avenue  of  the 
gardens,  stood  the  tasteful  structure  of  Persia  ;  the  smaller  and 
characteristic  one  of  Norway  ;  that  of  Egypt,  nearly  as  large  as 
the  Chinese,  and  only  less  appropriate  in  architecture  to  the 
people  represented,  with  a  supplementary  and  smaller  build¬ 
ing  in  line  with  it ;  that  of  Sweden,  with  a  supplementary 
clock-tower — both  small  but  picturesque;  that  of  Tunis,  form¬ 
ing  an  L,  with  a  second  building  in  the  angle,  and  the  main 
structure  full  of  Arabic  grace  ;  that  of  Morocco,  of  moderate 
size  and  little  pretension,  beside  that  of  Tunis;  and  that  of 
Japan,  in  quite  extended  grounds  of  its  own,  showing  the 
architecture  of  that  ingenious  nation  quite  as  well  as  so  many 
remember  its  exponent  at  Philadelphia.  Much  nearer  to  the 
observer,  on  either  side  and  parallel  with  the  Great  Basin  of 
the  Cascade,  was  a  restaurant  of  prominence  ;  and  some  other 
and  minor  buildings,  devoted  to  special  interests,  and  below 
the  grade  of  nationality,  appeared  at  various  points  and  espe¬ 
cially  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  grounds,  adding  to  the  variety 
and  interest  of  the  whole. 

It  needs  scarcely  be  said  that  amid  all  the  buildings  named, 
the  walks,  regular  and  irregular,  and  many  of  them  tastefully 
curved,  showed  the  perfection  of  laying  and  keeping,  with 
grasses,  flowers  and  shrubbery  as  necessary  and  important 
adjuncts;  and,  so  much  conveyed,  obviously  the  view  over  the 
Trocadero  grounds  from  the  colonnade,  could  not  be  other  than 
a  notable  one,  even  ignoring  the  Seine,  the  broad  Pont  de 
Jena,  the  grounds  of  the  Main  Palace,  and  that  Palace  itself, 
nobly  closing  in  the  immediate  prospect. 

But  now  came  to  the  Governor  another  view  from  a  portion 
of  the  Trocadero  more  characteristic  than  any  preceding,  even 
if  much  more  limited  in  extent.  This  was  that  obtained  from 


FROM  AND  AT  THE  TROCADERO. 


279 


the  Chateau  d’Eau  (as  the  Parisians  phrase  it)  of  the  Great 
Cascade — literal^  the  ground  floor  of  the  immense  bow-front 
of  the  Palace,  under  the  Salle  des  Fetes.  And  in  speaking  of 
it,  the  Cascade  itself,  the  Great  Basin,  and  their  surroundings, 
arc  necessarily  involved. 

Beyond  a  question,  no  feature  of  the  Exposition  has  awakened 
more  pride  in  the  minds  of  the  Parisians  than  this  Cascade, 
the  precursors  of  which  have  been  found  in  many  years  of 
admirable  and  almost  matchless  water  displays  at  Versailles. 
In  the  building  of  the  Trocadero  Palace  much  stress  was  laid 
upon  the  construction  of  this  Chateau  d’Eau  and  the  liberal 
supply  of  water  made  by  the  immense  steam  pump  of  Chaillot 
from  the  reservoirs  of  Passy.  This  lower  story  of  the  central 
great  building  is  of  heavy  yet  graceful  stone-work,  with  some 
of  the  key  stones  of  the  arch  displaying  the  highest  art  of 
the  sculptor,  from  such  chisels  as  that  of  Lcgrain  ;  and  no  less 
than  six  sitting  figures,  of  gilded  bronze,  on  the  pilasters, 
complete  its  effect,  from  some  of  the  best  statuaries  of  France  : 
“  Europe,”  by  Schoenewerck  ;  “  Asia,”  by  Falguiercs  ;  “Africa,” 
by  Delaplanche ;  “North  America,”  by  Iliollc ;  “South 
America,”  by  Millet;  and  “Occanica,”  by  Moreau.  This  does 
not  complete  the  sculptures  involved,  however.  Four  magni¬ 
ficent  animal  figures  surround  the  Great  Basin  below — 
colossal,  in  bronze,  and  all  thoroughly  admirable  in  handling ; — 
The  Bull,  by  M.  Cain;  the  Horse,  by  M.  Rouillard ;  the  Rhi¬ 
noceros,  by  M.  Jacquemart ;  and  the  Elephant,  by  M.  Fremiet. 

Figures  are  always  tiresome  and  often  misleading  ;  let  us 
have  none  of  them.  Enough  to  say  that  a  thin  sheet  of  water, 
of  fair  height  and  immense  width,  falls  from  the  arch  of  the 
Chateau  d’Eau  into  a  basin  beneath  ;  that  thence  six  “  cas- 
catelles,”  or  semi-cascades  (really  “  rapids”)  convey  the  flood 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  circular  Great  Basin,  where  it  finds  a 
final  fall  of  some  distance  ;  that  at  each  of  the  cascatelles  a 
noble  single  stream  springs  into  the  air ;  and  that  in  the 
Great  Basin  play  two  immense  sheaf-fountains  with  a  jet 
rising  high  in  the  middle  of  each,  while  one  powerful  jet, 


280 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


possibly  a  foot  in  diameter  and  not  less  than  a  hundred  feet  i  r 
height,  throws  up  its  wealth  of  flashing  silver  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  Basin. 

To  those  who  have  made  water  a  study,  and  the  admiration 
of  it  something  approaching  to  worship,  even  this  incomplete 
description  may  convey  some  impression  of  the  Great  Cascade 
of  the  Trocadero.  Meanwhile,  only  those  can  be  expected  to 
realize,  in  imagination,  the  “view,”  for  the  production  of 
which  the  last  paragraphs  have  been  merely  a  preparation. 
For  nowhere  else  on  the  face  of  the  travelled  earth  is  there 
anything  approaching  it  in  a  certain  sort  of  beauty  and  its 
resulting  sensation.  Damp,  indeed,  is  the  vault  of  the  Chateau 
d’  Eau  at  all  hours,  with  the  fine  particles  of  water  drifting 
back  into  it;  and  very  damp  is  it,  to  absolute  wetness,  when 
the  wind  chances  to  be  from  the  west  and  to  exert  a  consider¬ 
able  force  in  driving  those  particles  back  into  the  virtual  cave. 
But  who,  duly  instructed,  would  not  risk  silks  or  patent- 
leathers,  or  even  the  throat,  for  a  few  moments,  to  see  how  a 
bit  of  the  world  looks  through  a  solid  inch  thick  of  the  most 
delicate  cobweb  lace,  all  the  while  being  literal!}'  poured  down 
in  a  broad  sheet,  with  just  enough  wavering  and  flickering  in 
the  wind  to  make  the  ensemble  more  ravishing  while  with  no 
loss  of  distinctness  ? 

Such  is,  indeed,  the  bald  fact,  looking  through  the  Cascade 
from  within,  on  a  day  with  no  play  of  sunlight.  But  with  the 
sun  high  in  heaven,  and  cloudless ;  with  every  mesh  of  the 
lace  made  glittering  silver  as  well  as  thread  ;  with  all  bright¬ 
ness  added,  and  yet  no  clearness  of  view  taken  away, — abso¬ 
lutely  there  are  no  words  in  which  to  describe  the  sensations 
of  thrilled  satisfaction  with  which  one  gazes  through  this 
marvellous  white  flickering,  transparent  curtain,  let  down 
from  fairy-land,  on  the  cascatelles  below,  the  fountains  flash¬ 
ing  up  from  them  and  in  the  Great  Basin,  on  the  beautiful 
walks,  shrubbery  and  buildings  of  the  Trocadero  Gardens,  the 
Seine,  the  Main  Palace  grounds,  the  Main  Palace  itself,  and  all 
southwestern  Paris,  softened  but  undimmed,  and  all  made 
part  of  the  same  fairy-land  whence  the  falling  water  proceeds. 


FROM  AND  A  T  THE  TROCADERO. 


281 


by  this  pure  and  radiant  medium  through  which  the  vision 
comes  back  to  the  enraptured  eye.  Many  a  time  before,  the 
Governor  had  been  behind  sheets  of  falling  water — at  Goat 
Island  and  under  the  English  Fall,  at  Niagara  ;  looking  out 
through  the  Fall  of  Lauterbrunnen  ;  amid  the  flashing  glares 
of  white  and  green  of  that  of  Giessbach  ;  and  repeatedly 
elsewhere.  But  never  before  had  he  seen  anything  like  this 
overwhelmingly  beautiful  effect  of  water  and  sunlight,  pro¬ 
duced  through  so  simple  means  by  the  active  brain  of  Inven¬ 
tion  and  the  capable  hand  of  Art. 

So  much  for  the  views,  near  and  more  distant,  from  the 
Trocadero  Palace.  Now  for  the  result  of  certain  brief  obser¬ 
vations — once  more  within  the  Palace  itself.  Understood  that 
the  Salle  des  Fetes  occupied  the  virtual  whole  of  the  front 
of  the  central  building  above,  and  the  Chateau  d'Eau  the 
whole  of  that  portion  below— there  still  remain  to  be  accounted 
for,  that  portion  of  it  fronting  on  the  Place  du  Trocadero,  the 
choirs  of  the  wings,  and  those  long  curved  wings  themselves. 

One  of  the  most  important  offices  of  the  Trocadero  Palace, 
present  or  future,  is  filled  by  the  two  halls,  occupying  what  is 
really  the  first  story,  separated  by  the  two  elevators  from  the 
outer  line  of  the  central  Salle  des  Fetes,  and  called  (somewhat 
at  length)  the  Flails  of  Conference  and  of  Scientific  Congres¬ 
sional  Reunions  (“  salles  aflectees  aux  conferences  et  aux  re¬ 
unions  des  congres  scientifiques”).  These  two  noble  rooms, 
of  which  mention  was  made  in  the  description  of  the  Opening 
of  the  Exposition  as  witnessing  the  gathering  and  receptions 
of  the  foreign  notables,  diplomats,  &c.,  have,  with  great  pro¬ 
priety,  been  devoted,  additionally,  to  the  exhibition  of  historic 
portraits,  of  which  nearly  seven  hundred,  drawn  from  the 
choicest  repositories  of  France,  were  collected  for  the  great 
occasion  through  the  efforts  of  the  Marquis  de  Chennevieres, 
honorary  director  of  Fine  Arts ;  M.  Henry  Jouin,  the  secretary, 
and  others  associated  with  them.  Among  those  who  contrib¬ 
uted  to  the  really  wonderful  collection,  may  be  named  the 
Orleans  princes,  the  Due  d’Aumale,  the  Comte  de  Paris,  Mar¬ 
quis  de  Laborde,  M.  de  Beauvais,  &c.  It  may  be  said  that 


282 


PARIS  IN  78. 


every  class  of  celebrity,  in  the  history  of  France,  was  here 
represented — kings,  generals,  prelates,  savans,  inventors, 
poets,  philosophers,  artists,  men  of  benevolence,  &c.,  from 
pencils  famous  as  those  of  Largilliere,  Rigaud,  Boucher, 
Greuze,  Delatour,  David,  Prudhon,  Watteau,  Ingres,  Ary 
Scheffer,  and  others  only  less  celebrated.  Perhaps  among  all 
the  collection,  which  has  during  the  summer  attracted  so 
closely  the  eyes  of  all  privileged  to  enter  these  halls,  no  por¬ 
traits  have  more  surely  riveted  the  attention  than  those  of 
poor  Andre  Chenier,  the  poet,  by  Suree,  and  his  later  and  hap¬ 
pier  brother,  Bcranger,  by  Ary  Scheffer.  Splendid  busts  of 
Chateaubriand  and  of  the  savant  Arago,  both  by  David  of 
Angers,  diversified  the  remarkable  collection,  which  was 
further  aided  in  variety  if  not  in  tone  by  the  presence  of  a 
“  burning  bush  ”  from  the  Cathedral  of  Aix,  in  Provence,  in 
which  an  authentic  image  of  good  King  Rene  and  his  queen 
awakened  the  curiosity  of  the  imaginative. 

It  may  be  said  that  all  the  Trocadero  Palace,  not  already 
designated  as  otherwise  employed,  was  devoted  to  the  depart¬ 
ment  of  “L' Art  Retrospectif  ” — literally,  the  History  of  Art. 
This  display,  really  one  cf  the  most  important  of  the  sea¬ 
son,  and  scarcely  equalled  at  any  previous  exhibition,  bears 
the  name  of  having  been  organized  by  M.  Longperier,  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  Institute,  and  entitles  him  and  his  assistants  to  the 
warm  thanks  of  every  visitor.  The  three  divisions  of  the 
Palace  thus  occupied  have  been  that  portion  of  the  central 
building  opening  on  the  Place  du  Trocadero,  in  the  rear  of  the 
Salle  des  Fetes,  and  the  entire  two  long  curved  wings  of  the 
structure — one  devoted  principally  to  the  past  art  of  France, 
and  the  other  to  that  of  the  world  generally. 

In  all  this  large  and  important  department  of  the  Exposition, 
it  may  be  possible  to  convey  to  the  minds  of  many  of  those  de¬ 
barred  from  the  actual  sight,  some  idea  of  its  character,  by 
saying  that  here  was  represented,  a  thousand  in  one,  of  the 
creditable  and  generous  Loan  Collections  shown  in  different 
years  at  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  Academy 


FROM  AND  AT  THE  TROCADERO. 


283 


of  Design,  etc  ,  of  the  same  general  scope,  but  with  the  im¬ 
mense  resources  of  Continental  Europe  for  the  supply,  instead 
of  the  gatherings  of  a  few  liberal  art-lovers  living  beyond  seas, 
and  thus  distant  from  the  possible  avenues  of  acquisition.  The 
number  of  princely  and  wealthy  contributors  has  been  literally 
legion  ;  and  among  those  from  whose  collections  came  the 
veritable  master-works  in  Gobelin,  Ceauvais,  and  other  antique 
tapestries,  jewelry,  works  of  art,  faiences,  rare  manuscripts, 
etc.,  may  be  mentioned  M.  de  Rothschild,  whose  very  name 
at  once  suggests  corresponding  experience  and  immense 
resources. 

Necessarily,  the  bulk  of  the  exhibition  of  Retrospective  Art 
was  to  be  found  in  the  immense  curved  wings,  in  the  structure 
of  each  of  which  there  are  two  intermediary  towers  or  pavil¬ 
ions,  with  one  tower  at  the  head  or  end.  In  these  there  have 
been  some  magnificent  glass-works,  by  eminent  masters  in 
that  detail  ;  but  we  must  pass  them  for  a  hasty  resume  of  the 
contents  of  the  many  halls  of  the  wings. 

In  the  Left  Wing  (as  seen  from  the  Gardens)  no  less  than 
fifteen  halls  have  been  brought  into  requisition,  of  the  contents 
of  which  may  be  mentioned  some  of  the  more  prominent  ob¬ 
jects.  ist  Hall :  flint  and  stone  weapons  of  the  early  ages; 
bronze  arms  of  the  ancient  Gauls  ;  modes  of  sepulture  of  the 
Gauls  ;  several  interesting  bronzes  of  the  Gallo-Roman  age, 
including  the  “  Hercules  ”  from  the  Museum  of  Bordeaux,  the 
“  Apollo  ”  from  that  of  Troyes,  two  “  Jupiters ’’  from  those  of 
Lyons  and  Evreux,  Gallic  medals,  etc.  2d  Hall  :  bronzes,  mar¬ 
bles,  and  terra-cottas,  all  antique  ;  among  them,  the  “  Victory  ” 
of  Phidias,  from  the  Parthenon  ;  statue  from  the  tomb  of 
Mausoleus  at  Hallicarnassus  ;  terra-cotta  statuettes  from 
Bceotia ;  Greek  painted  vases;  bronze  chest  from  Palestrina; 
medals  of  the  Greeks,  Romans  and  Asiatics ;  the  great  silver 
tripod  from  the  museum  of  Pesth  ;  arms  of  gladiators,  etc.  3d 
Hall :  (the  Greau  collection)  antique  bronzes  ;  terra-cottas  ; 
Assyrian  bas-reliefs  ;  arms  of  Greece,  Italy  and  Gaul,  etc.  4th 
Hall :  relics  of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  jewels,  coins,  arms,  manu- 


284 


PARIS  IN  78. 


scripts,  seals,  carved  ivories  ;  enamelled  cross  from  the  Muse¬ 
um  of  St.  Orner;  sword  of  the  crusader,  Hugh  of  Meaux; 
wooden  statue  of  the  son  of  St,  Louis,  etc.  5th  Hall :  (the 
Basilewski  collection)  goldsmiths’  work  and  ivories  of  the  12th 
and  13th  centuries;  Italian  majolicas;  enamels  of  Limoges  ; 
terra-cottas  of  Bernard  Palissy  ;  great  Ilispano-Moresco  vase  ; 
Italian  faiences,  etc.  6th  Hall  ;  relics  of  the  15th  and  1 6th  cen¬ 
turies  ;  has  relief  from  the  Doria  Palace,  Genoa;  bas-relief 
from  the  Chartreuse  of  Pavia,  by  Mantegazza  ;  varnished 
terra-cottas  by  Luca  Della  Robbia;  splendid  collection  of 
French  coins,  from  the  10th  century  to  the  present ;  stuffs  of 
the  Middle  Ages ;  sacerdotal  relics,  etc.  7th  Hall:  relics  of 
the  1 5th  century  ;  marbles,  bronzes,  ivories,  ceramics,  arms, 
goldsmith’s  work  ;  busts  and  bas-reliefs  by  Donatello  ;  the 
“Wounded  Young  Man,”  a  magnificent  marble  attributed  to 
Michael  Angelo  ;  seven  panels  of  the  history  of  John  the  Bap¬ 
tist;  grand  medallions  of  the  15th  and  1 6th  centuries,  etc. 
8th  Hall:  Italian  majolicas;  potteries  of  Bernard  Palissy;  the 
“  Twelve  Apostles,”  on  Limoges  enamel,  by  Michael  Rochetel, 
1545,  held  as  the  supreme  treasure  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter 
at  Chartres,  and  never  before  publicly  exhibited  ;  Guttenberg’s 
Bible — one  of  the  only  seven  known;  statue  of  St.  Francis 
d’Assisi  by  Alonzo  Cano,  etc.  9th  Hall  (Spitzer  collection)  : 
arms  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  immense  collection  of  watches  and 
mathematical  and  astronomical  instruments  ;  arms  of  the  15th 
century  ;  bronzes  of  the  same  century  and  that  following;  ar¬ 
mor  of  the  Earl  of  Essex,  of  Queen  Elizabeth’s  time,  etc.  10th 
Hall  :  tapestries,  stuffs,  sacred  utensils,  manuscripts,  etc.,  of 
the  Middle  Ages  and  Renaissance  (many  of  them  Jewish); 
splendid  sculptured  canopy  of  the  baptismal  font  from  the 
Church  of  St.  Romain  at  Rouen,  etc.  nth  Hall:  Polish  monu¬ 
ments,  pictures,  stuffs,  armor ;  Persian  carpets  ;  the  fan  of 
Maria  Leczynski,  etc.  12th  Hall  :  furniture,  bronzes  and  mar¬ 
bles  of  the  16th  century;  arms,  including  splendid  collection 
of  swords.  13th  Hall :  old  armor  of  different  European  nations  ; 
splendid  horse-armor ;  Scottish  targets  ;  medals  of  the  16th 


FROM  AND  AT  THE  TROCADERO. 


285 


Century.  14th  Hall :  carved  furniture  ;  faiences  from  Rouen 
and  Nevers  ;  group  in  marble  by  Sarrazin  ;  “  Eneus  Carrying 
Andrises,’’  group  attributed  to  Puget ;  silver  work,  etc.  15th 
Hall:  delicate  porcelains  of  France,  from  1731  ;  Sevres  porce¬ 
lains  ;  Delft  faiences  ;  the  bronze  “  Diana,”  b)'  Pigalle  ;  bronzes 
b)r  Gouthifere  ;  musical  instruments  ;  the  astronomical  clock 
of  Versailles  ;  rare  and  curious  books,  etc. 

In  the  Right  Wing  (as  from  the  gardens)  there  have  been 
eleven  halls  in  occupancy.  1st  Hall:  ancient  and  modern 
Egyptian  utensils  ;  arms,  religious  standards,  harnesses,  etc. 
2d  Hall  :  Egyptian  antiquities ;  stone  statues  attributed  to  the 
first  Pharaonic  empire  ;  bust  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt.  3d 
Hall :  carpets,  lamps,  three  Korans,  etc.,  of  Egypt  under  the 
Califs:  Mussulman  money.  4th  Hall:  monuments  of  Cam¬ 
bodia,  including  a  giant  with  many  serpent-heads,  from  Indian 
tomb.  5th  Hall :  manufactures  in  porcelain,  lacquer-work,  etc., 
from  Japan.  6th  Hall  :  antiquities,  curiosities,  jewelry,  etc.,  of 
Africa  and  Central  America.  7th  Hall:  the  same.  8th  Hall: 
collection  from  Oceanica,  brought  by  Dumont  Durville  in  the 
Astrolabe.  9th  Hall  :  fine  old  Belgian  furniture  and  tapestries  ; 
a  splendid  “Christ,”  in  ivory,  attributed  to  Dufresnoy,  17th 
century.  10th  Hall :  Spanish  collection  ;  statue  of  Charles  V., 
surrounded  by  armors  of  Columbus,  the  Duke  of  Alva,  Gon- 
salvo  de  Cordova,  and  Philip  III.  ;  many  historic  helmets  and 
casques — among  others  that  of  Boabdil,  last  Moorish  king  of 
Grenada  ;  magnificent  Portuguese  bed,  of  the  17th  century, 
nth  Hall:  Swedish  collection;  very  interesting  groups  of 
typical  national  figures,  with  domestic  surroundings  ;  interior 
of  a  Swedish  habitation. 

The  length  at  which  the  Trocadero  Palace  has  thus  far  been 
examined  makes  it  necessary  to  leave  it  with  some  abruptness, 
without  any  attempt  at  specifying  the  marvellous  sculptural 
and  architectural  adornments  which  make  it  really  one  of  the 
prides  of  Paris  and  the  world.  Three  features,  however,  com¬ 
mand  notice:  the  slightly-colossal  winged  wreath-extending 
and  trumpet-blowing  statue  of  Renown  (“  La  Renommee  ”), 


286 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


modelled  in  brass  by  M.  Antoine  Mercie,  and  crowning  the 
summit  of  the  dome,  over  the  Salle  des  Fetes  ;  the  thirty  stat¬ 
ues  which  decorate  the  summit  of  the  portico,  or  terrace  of 
the  first  story— in  stone,  by  different  sculptors,  and  nobly  rep¬ 
resenting  the  Arts,  Sciences  and  Manufactures  ;  and  the  al¬ 
most  endless  succession  of  the  celebrated  names  in  all  the 
walks  of  human  effort,  decorating  the  walls  and  porticos  of 
literally  the  whole  edifice.  To  those  who  have  seen  the  Tro- 
cadero  during  the  summer  of  1S78,  even  the  partial  descriptions 
given  may  serve  in  some  sort  as  a  pleasant  reminder  ;  to  those 
who  missed  that  privilege,  they  may  have  some  influence  in 
determining  to  visit  it  in  the  future  of  its  permanency,  however 
despoiled  of  many  of  its  wondrous  temporary  attractions. 


287 


XXXIII. 


IN  THE  TWO  EXPOSITION  PARKS. 


As  already  understood,  all  the  open  grounds  of  the  Exposi¬ 
tion  have  been  those  between  the  Trocadero  Palace  and  the 
Seine,  on  the  one  side  of  the  river,  and  between  the  Main 
Palace  and  the  river,  on  the  other  side — the  latter  palace  run¬ 
ning  back  quite  to  the  Avenue  de  la  Mothe  Picquet  and  the 
grounds  of  the  Ecole  Militaire.  These  have  formed,  so  to 
speak,  the  two  Parks  of  the  Exposition.  From  the  tower  of 
the  Trocadero,  the  colonnade,  and  the  Chateau  d’Eau  of  the 
cascade,  we  have  glanced  casually  over  the  constructions  in 
the  Trocadero  grounds  ;  but  many  of  them  warrant  at  least 
some  attempt  at  hasty  description. 

The  Aquarium  (called  the  “Aquarium  d'Eau  Douce  ” — liter¬ 
ally  the  “aquarium  of  soft  water”)  stood,  as  already  noted,  at 
near  the  extreme  terminatory  tower  of  the  left  wing,  not  far 
from  the  Rue  de  Magdebourg.  It  was  arranged  under  the  care 
of  the  engineer,  Barois,  and  was  in  many  regards  one  of  the 
most  admirable  works  of  its  class,  occupying  altogether  a  space 
of  some  nine  hundred  square  feet,  with  admirable  accommoda¬ 
tion  forthe  variety  of  fishes,  among  rocks  picturesquely  arrang¬ 
ed  and  marine  plants  proper  for  their  habitation.  A  succession 
of  rough  and  picturesque  caverns,  appearing  natural,  formed 
one  of  the  leading  attractions.  Six  rustic  bridges  gave  com¬ 
munication  between  the  different  portions  ;  and  two  others  led 
to  a  little  chalet  in  the  centre,  where  were  hydraulic  machines, 
which  at  once  furnished  the  water  of  the  Aquarium  and  oxy¬ 
genated  it.  Several  cascades  formed  part  of  the  beauty  of 
this  ingenious  contrivance  ;  and  one,  at  near  the  entrance, 
would  have  formed  a  feature  of  the  grounds  but  for  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  the  great  cascade  of  the  Trocadero  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood. 

Very  near  the  Aquarium  was  the  building  of  Algeria,  already 


28S 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


designated  as  among  the  largest  in  the  grounds.  This  struc¬ 
ture,  without,  was  picturesquely  Moorish  in  construction, 
broken,  towered  and  domed  after  the  well-known  manner  of 
that  architecture,  with  several  square  telescope  towers— one 
of  considerable  height  and  elaborate  ornamentation,  and  a 
domed  tower  at  the  opposite  corner,  showing  in  small  the  very 
proportions  of  St.  Sophia.  Needless  to  say  that  the  outside 
was  surrounded  by  the  plants  and  small  trees  of  the  semi¬ 
tropics,  which  would  flourish  in  French  air;  and  that  within, 
surrounding  a  court  filled  with  the  tall  palms  and  other  ex¬ 
otics  in  apparently  wild  profusion,  and  in  galleries  surrounding 
the  court,  with  the  nameless  charm  of  semi-Oriental  arrange¬ 
ment,  were  shown  the  fruits,  minerals,  wines,  coffee,  tobacco 
and  other  productions  ;  the  national  costumes,  arms,  jewels, 
cloths,  carpets,  &c.,  sent  by  more  than  two  thousand  exhibit¬ 
ors,  and  well  displaying  the  wealth  of  this  great  colony  of 
France.  By  a  natural  instinct,  many  of  the  costumes  of  visit¬ 
ors,  appropriate  to  such  surroundings,  were  often  to  be  found 
in  this  pavilion,  giving  it  the  tone  that  might  otherwise  have 
been  lacking,  and  seeming,  so  to  speak,  to  acclimatate  it. 

Nothing  could  well  be  more  thoroughly  opposite  to  the  Al¬ 
gerian,  in  aspect,  than  another,  from  the  same  Africa,  standing 
across  the  grounds  from  it,  at  near  the  end  of  the  right  wing 
— the  Egyptian.  It  was  a  reproduction  of  the  times  of  the 
Pharaohs,  immensely  massive  in  construction,  of  two  square 
battered  towers  with  coved  overhanging  eaves,  two  stories  of 
windows  broad  and  colonnaded,  and  a  centre-part,  lower,  with 
long  sunken  pilasters  and  an  entrance-way  square  and  heavy 
enough  for  one  of  the  tombs  of  the  order.  Ileavy-looking,  yet 
with  a  marked  appropriateness,  when  the  two  star-and-crescent 
flags  waved  above  it.  Within,  the  galleries,  surroundinga  court, 
like  those  of  the  Algerians,  had  much  more  of  lightness,  with 
an  absolute  oddity  in  the  triple  upright  supporters.  In  the 
vestibule,  were  the  textile  fabrics  of  the  Khedive’s  day,  in  no 
small  variety;  and  in  the  innumerable  cases  of  the  galleries 
were  shown  not  only  many  of  the  splendid  potteries  of  Keneh 
and  Assouan,  but  magnificent  cutleries  equal  to  those  of  Da- 


IN  THE  EXPOSITION  PARKS. 


289 


mascus,  woollen,  camels’-hair  and  other  stuffs,  the  rice  and 
other  cereals  of  the  Valley  of  the  Nile,  and  an  almost  endless 
succession  of  Egyptian  products  and  manufactures.  One  could 
very  well  have  spared  the  absolutely  horrid  pictures  of  the 
slave-trade,  found  in  the  saloon  of  the  International  African 
Society  ;  but  one  could  ill  have  missed  the  great  chart  and 
relief-plan  of  the  Suez  Canal,  or  the  active  face  and  gray  head 
of  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps,  sometimes  visible  in  this  honored 
and  attractive  building. 

Near  the  Egyptian  structure,  and  at  the  right  outer  edge  of 
the  grounds,  near  the  Rue  Le  Notre,  was  the  Chinese  Pavilion, 
about  which  the  few  words  spoken  cannot  be  very  connected. 
For  it  was,  what  Rosa  Bud,  in  “  Edwin  Drood,”  would  have 
designated  as  “too,  too,  too  droll  I"  There  were  two  main 
pavilions,  with  fretted  railings  in  front,  the  roofs  of  which  sug¬ 
gested  immense  enraged  butterflies,  just  flying  away  ;  and  an 
inner  pagoda,  round  or  nearly  so,  seemed  all  composed  of  those 
fugitive  roofs.  Meanwhile,  there  were  four  tall  posts,  in  the 
middle  of  the  front  space,  with  four  cross-pieces,  very  highly 
ornamented  and  somewhat  inscribed  ;  and  over  all  this,  on  two 
very  tall  poles  with  something  like  hawk’s  nests  two-thirds  of 
the  way  up,  waved  two  of  the  hideous  dragon-flags  of  the  Ce¬ 
lestial  Empire.  Really,  without,  this  structure,  largely  in  bar¬ 
baric  red-and-gold,  and  its  surroundings,  were  “  fearsome.” 
It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  it  was  constructed  at  Pekin,  taken 
apart,  conveyed  here,  and  rebuilt  piece  by  piece.  Within,  the 
arrangement  was  equally  striking  and  much  more  inde¬ 
scribable.  The  ornamentation  was  elaborate,  and  in  some 
particulars  unapproachable.  And  the  collection  exhibited,  in 
porcelains,  lacquer-work,  furniture,  jewellery  and  articles  of 
curiosity,  made  the  bazars  which  formed  part  of  the  building 
very  busy  and  profitable. 

The  pavilions  of  Sweden  and  Norway  (the  two  together,  as 
in  government)  were  immediately  in  the  van  of  the  Egyptian, 
toward  the  Seine.  Of  the  two  principal,  the  first  was  a  gabled 
Swiss  chalet,  overhanging,  with  diamond  windows,  and  colon¬ 
naded  balcony  in  the  hanging  gable  :  properly  the  architecture 


200 


PARIS  IN  78. 


of  the  Scandinavian  lands,  as  well  as  that  of  Switzerland.  The 
second  was  a  square  tower,  battered,  with  sharp,  pent-roofed 
heading  and  four  clock  faces;  and  the  interest  excited  by  its 
odd  picturesqueness  was  enhanced  to  many  by  the  knowledge 
that  it  was  a  copy  of  the  tower  of  the  mansion  of  the  old 
Swedish  kingly  hero,  Gustavus  Vasa.  The  Swedish  collection, 
of  much  value,  was  in  the  first,  and  consisted  principally  of  the 
exposition  of  the  Swedish  Society  of  Friends  of  Manual  Labor, 
in  revivals  of  Mediaeval  furniture  and  many  other  objects  of 
interest.  The  second  was,  as  it  appeared,  merely  a  character¬ 
istic  clock  tower.  In  two  other  and  minor  pavilions  was  the 
especial  exhibit  of  Norway,  of  the  furniture,  surroundings  and 
modes  of  living  of  “  Gamle  Norje.” 

Still  in  the  rear  of  the  Swedish  and  Norwegian  came  the 
small  and  solid  looking  building,  with  the  sunken  colonnaded 
front  and  deep  bay  windows,  of  Persia.  In  the  interior  the 
most  marked  features  were  the  central  apartment  of  the  ground 
floor,  with  its  great  fountain  surrounded  by  a  wilderness  of 
flowers, — and  the  “  Salon  des  Glaces  ”  of  the  first  story,  in 
which  the  really  marvellous  employment  of  glass  on  all  sides, 
as  also  in  the  ceiling,  made  a  veritable  glimpse  of  fairyland. 
Traditionally,  even  that  imperial  brute,  the  Shah,  who  visited 
it,  is  said  to  have  approved  of  it  and  not  ordered  any  heads 
cut  off  on  account  of  its  construction. 

Beside  the  Persian,  southward,  was  the  Tunisian  Cafe, — 
long,  low,  Moorish-looking,  with  striped  sides,  and  the  arches 
the  round-headed  bulged  Saracen ;  within,  columned,  cur¬ 
tained,  light-looking  and  attractive,  with  the  service  of  its 
name,  and  continuous  music  recalling  to  the  visitors  of  1867 
the  endless  and  doleful  “  tum-tum  ’’  of  the  Tunisian  Cafe  in  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  of  that  year.  Needless  to  say  that  the  Bazaar 
had  an  endless  and  attractive  collection  of  Tunisian  goods, 
always  on  sale  and  attended  after  the  best  manner  of  Paris. 
The  small  pavilion  of  Morocco  was  almost  beside  that  of  Tunis, 
showing  some  of  the  tasteful  architecture  of  the  Moors,  but 
with  no  special  feature  demanding  comment. 

Only  one  more  of  the  national  buildings  in  the  Trocadero 


IN  THE  EXPOSITION  PARKS. 


291 


can  have  space— that  of  Japan,  already  spoken  of  as  a  small 
building— actually  a  congeries  of  small  buildings,  in  the  boun¬ 
daries  of  a  perfect  “  farm  ”  of  the  plantations  and  shrubberies 
belonging  to  the  life  of  that  country.  In  this  enclosure, 
entirely  shut  in  by  a  bamboo  fence,  in  the  various  buildings 
and  grounds,  not  only  were  the  modes  shown  of  Japanese 
housekeeping,  sleeping,  and  other  details  of  living,  but  the 
stabling  of  horses  (in  three  little  ponies),  the  raising  of  fowls, 
the  growing  of  grains,  tobacco,  &c.;  so  that  a  virtual  epitome 
of  Japan  was  presented  in  little,  to  the  immense  delihgt  of 
crowds  always  visiting  and  surrounding  the  attractive  novelty. 

The  pretty  little  pavilion  of  Siam,  lying  between  the  river 
and  the  Chinese  building,  and  the  Bazaar  Oriental,  near  the 
Algerian,  and  always  surrounded  by  crowds  of  bibulous  and 
purchasing  visitors,  receiving  necessarily  but  scant  mention— 
there  only  remains  for  notice  one  building  in  the  Trocadero 
Grounds,  perhaps  quite  as  interesting  as  any  other,  and  afford¬ 
ing  a  valuable  hint  to  all  after  exhibitions.  This  was  the 
Pavilion  of  Forests,  nearly  equidistant  from  the  Aquarium  and 
the  Algerian  building.  It  was  handsomely  constructed, 
entirely  of  different  woods,  in  natural  colors,  with  double- 
pitched  roof  and  gabled  centre  front,  ascended  by  several 
steps,  and  thickly  bowered  in  shrubbery.  Within  it,  under 
the  capital  arrangement  of  Mr.  Lucien  Etienne,  was  gathered 
one  of  the  most  interesting  collections  possible,  of  the  vege¬ 
table  and  mineral  products  of  the  French  forests  ;  the  types  of 
their  denizens,  from  ferocious  beasts  to  tiny  insects  ;  the  tools 
and  weapons  of  the  forester;  and,  indeed,  the  whole  study  of 
forestry  mapped  and  illustrated,  to  the  delight  of  all  who  saw 
and  the  gratitude  of  all  who  remember. 

So  much  hastily  shown,  it  becomes  necessary  to  leave  the 
Trocadero  Grounds,  and,  passing  over  the  Seine,  to  take  a 
corresponding  view  of  a  few  objects  in  the  Park  of  the  Champ 
de  Mars. 

In  this  view,  we  stand  on  the  magnificent  Terrace  of  the 
M  ain  Palace,  some  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length  by 
sixty  in  depth,  with  no  less  than  twenty-seven  doors  leading 


20 


292 


PARIS  IN  78. 


into  the  Grand  Vestibule  of  Honor  of  the  Palace.  We  stand 
in  front  of  the  central  entrance,  near  the  splendid  sitting 
Statue  of  the  Republic,  by  Clesinger,  bearing  the  tablet 
of  the  erection  of  the  Republic  and  the  upright  sword  of 
power;  and  under  the  escutcheon  crowning  the  grand 
entrance,  of  two  female  figures,  winged  and  soaring,  linking 
hands  and  holding  torches,  with  shields  on  either  side,  the 
magic  word  “  Pax  "  above  their  clasp,  and  the  “  R.  F.”  of  the 
present  form  of  government  below.  Behind,  on  either  side 
the  statues  of  the  Nations  taking  part  in  the  Exposition, 
already  noticed  by  “  Tommy  ”  in  his  description  of  the  Opening 
and  its  Palaces. 

From  this  point  of  view  not  very  many  national  buildings 
met  the  eye,  though  several  structures  of  interest ;  while  an 
irregular  basin,  or  fountain,  on  either  side  of  the  central  walk 
leading  down  to  the  Pont  de  Jena,  a  variety  of  well-kept 
trees  and  shrubbery,  and  many  greenhouses  filled  with  ex¬ 
quisite  greenery  and  flowers,  gave  an  attractive  character  to 
the  scene. 

At  the  extreme  left,  beyond  the  left-hand  fountain,  showed 
the  immense  building  forming  one  of  the  English  annexes 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Main  Palace  and  annexes  proper. 
In  this  were  displayed  many  of  the  British  agricultural  ma¬ 
chines,  carriages,  articles  of  saddlery,  fac-similes  of  the  stable 
arrangements  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  &c.  Very  near,  to  the 
right,  were  the  group  of  small  buildings  containing  some  of 
the  Australian  products — chief  among  them  the  rough  hut  of 
an  Australian  miner,  and  serving  for  the  (practical)  exhibition 
of  the  wines  of  the  antipodes.  Still  beyond,  was  a  handsome 
pavilion,  of  half-Moorish  order,  surmounted  by  a  group  of 
statues,  containing  the  agricultural  products  of  Spain  ;  and, 
in  one  department  of  this,  no  less  than  40.000  bottles  of  the 
best  Spanish  wines,  disposed  in  the  form  of  a  Moresco  monu¬ 
ment,  perhaps  induced  as  many  smacks  of  the  lips  as  any 
other  exhibit  within  the  grounds.  Very  near  this  was  the 
smaller  but  handsome  pavilion  of  the  principality  of  Monaco, 
attracting  much  more  attention,  within,  than  many  larger 


IN  TIIE  EXPOSITION  PARKS. 


293 


buildings,  in  a  really  remarkable  exhibition  of  the  artistic 
majolicas  and  other  potteries  of  Monte  Carlo,  the  woods, 
liqueurs,  perfumes,  and  other  productions  of  that  little  border 
of  the  Mediterranean,  besides  some  busts  in  marble  and 
bronze  of  the  governing  powers,  and  one  or  two  pictures  of 
similar  character  and  more  than  average  merit. 

Still  continuing  the  view  to  the  river,  beyond  the  Spanish 
pavilion,  some  low,  long  buildings  met  the  eye,  attracting 
little  attention  from  many  visitors  while  deserving  the  regard 
of  all— nothing  less  than  the  admirable  collection  of  tents, 
ambulances,  wagons,  and  other  arrangements  of  mercy,  of  the 
French  Society  of  Succors  for  the  Wounded,  whose  labors- 
have  alleviated  the  horrors  of  so  many  battle  fields. 

Leaving  as  minor  the  English  kiosk,  English  cottages  and 
many  other  small  buildings,  greenhouses,  fountains,  &c.,  here 
lining  the  bank  of  the  Seine,  turn  we  to  the  right  of  the 
broad  central  avenue  leading  to  the  Pont  de  Jena. 

Here  the  eye  was  first  arrested,  at  near  the  right  hand  foun¬ 
tain,  by  the  colossal  head  of  Bartholdi’s  statue  of  America, 
designed  for  erection  on  Bedloe’s  Island,  in  New  York  harbor, 
and  of  which  many  will  remember  the  gigantic  arm,  bearing  a 
torch,  exhibited  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  and  afterward  on  one 
of  the  public  squares  of  New  York  city.  This  head,  severe¬ 
faced,  with  hair  en  neglige,  crowned  with  a  circlet  of  radiating 
spikes  of  great  length,  showed  the  statue  to  the  neck,  and 
stood  on  a  pedestal  of  some  ten  feet  in  height — its  own  height 
being  some  twenty-six  feet.  It  was  ascended  within  by  a 
staircase  of  thirty-eight  steps  ;  and  many  thousands  made  the 
ascent,  who  wished  at  once  to  dwarf  the  recollections  of  the 
“  San  Carlo  Borromeo  ”  on  Lago  Maggiore,  and  Schwantha- 
ler’s  gigantic  “  Bavaria,”  standing  in  the  suburbs  of  Munich — 
as  also  those  who  wished  to  enjoy  the  sensation  of  looking 
out  of  a  mouth  capable  of  swallowing  all  the  giants  of  the 
world  of  fancy. 

Very  many  of  the  great  cluster  of  buildings  filling  this  por¬ 
tion  of  the  Park,  beyond  the  “America,”’  were  devoted  to  the 
mechanical  works  which  have  made  French  labor  so  notable 


294 


PARIS  IN  78. 


as  well  as  so  profitable — to  the  exhibition  of  the  Ministry  of 
Public  Works,  of  the  Parisian  Gas  Company,  of  Fuels  and 
Lighting,  of  Cements,  Artistic  Reproductions,  Tobacco  Manu¬ 
factures,  the  French  Horticultural  Society,  &c.  But  among 
them  all,  of  first  interest  has  been  the  large  pavilion,  with  its 
immense  appendages,  of  the  foundries  of  M.  Schneider,  at 
Creusot,  of  which  the  colossal  steam-hammer  has  loomed 
above  every  other  object  in  the  neighborhood,  as  it  had  a 
right  to  do,  with  a  force  the  most  powerful  known  (72,000  kilo¬ 
grammes),  and  yet  an  ability  of  being  managed  actually  un¬ 
equalled.  In  this  exhibit  of  Creusot  have  also  been  shown 
some  of  the  most  immense  masses  and  productions  in  steel 
and  iron,  for  naval  and  other  purposes,  ever  placed  before  the 
public  eye  ;  a  relief  plan  of  Creusot  itself,  displaying  admirable 
ingenuity;  and  details  of  the  schools  of  instruction  of  that 
great  establishment,  reflecting  the  highest  honor  on  the 
founder  and  his  system. 

Before  closing  with  this,  the  series  of  incomplete  views  on 
and  over  the  great  place  of  assemblage,  merely  referring  to 
the  two  Monumental  Fountains,  on  either  side  of  the  central 
avenue,  adjoining  the  Quai  d’Orsay,  and  the  really  marvellous 
array  of  foliage  in  the  greenhouses  aligning  with  them,  it  is 
pleasant  to  say  that  the  last  glance,  before  reaching  the  marine 
arrangements  which  stud  the  veritable  river  bank,  tell  upon 
the  exhibit  of  another  merciful  enterprise,  only  second  to  that 
for  Succors  of  the  Wounded — the  Society  Protective  of 
Animals,  doing  the  same  good  work,  in  a  less  pronounced  and 
aggressive  manner,  performed  by  Mr.  Berghand  his  associates 
on  the  Western  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


IXZXIIXII'V'. 

IN  THE  VESTIBULE  OF  HONOR. 

Entrance  was  made  into  the  Main  Palace,  from  the  magnifi¬ 
cent  Terrace,  from  which  the  preceding  supplementary  view 
was  supposed  to  be  taken,  by  way  of  the  Grand  Vestibule  ol 
Honor,  alternately  called,  in  respect  to  the  Bridge,  the  “  Ves¬ 
tibule  of  Jena.”  And  here,  at  the  very  entrance  of  the  princi¬ 
pal  exhibition,  were  found  grouped  a  variety  of  objects  of  the 
very  first  interest,  well  worthy  of  that  splendid  gallery,  with 
architecture  rich  while  plain,  perfect  light,  and  nearly  one 
thousand  feet  in  length  with  a  width  of  some  seventy-five  to 
eighty  feet. 

In  the  middle  of  the  noble  space  under  the  entrance  tower, 
stood  the  Monumental  Clock,  constructed  by  M.  Eugene 
Farcot,  immense  in  size,  elaborate  in  design,  and  almost 
equalling  as  a  wonder,  though  falling  very  far  short  in  elabor¬ 
ation,  the  celebrated  Clock  of  Strasbourg.  It  was  of  about 
twenty-two  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  with  four  faces,  rich 
though  chaste  in  ornamentation ;  and  the  motion  was  com¬ 
municated  by  a  pendulum  more  than  one  hundred  feet  in 
length,  suspended  from  the  centre  of  the  dome  above,  with  a 
terrestrial  globe  of  some  four  feet  in  diameter  at  the  end, 
oscillating  in  about  ten  seconds,  and  acting  upon  a  needle,  in¬ 
visible,  like  all  the  other  mechanism.  The  lower  portion  had 
elaborate  bas-reliefs  in  bronze  with  caryatides  of  the  seasons  at 
the  corners  ;  and  it  was  surrounded,  at  a  distance  marking  the 
limits  of  the  central  pavilion,  by  a  circle  of  statues  virtually 
forming  a  guard  of  honor  for  the  central  mechanical  curiosity 
of  the  exhibition. 

Immediately  at  the  left  of  the  clock  (reckoning  from  the 
entrance  just  made)  was  an  exhibition  of  which  the  character 
might  be  more  easily  understood  than  the  name,  and  around 
which,  probably,  more  visitors  moved  on  any  given  day  oi 


296 


IN  PARIS  78. 


the  exhibition,  than  any  other  object  contained  in  the  Palace. 
On  the  maps  used  during  the  season,  and  in  the  guide  books 
circulated  in  the  Palace  and  elsewhere  in  Paris,  this  curiosity 
was  enumerated  as  “  Les  Diarnants  de  la  Couronne  ”  (“  Dia¬ 
monds  of  the  Crown”),  recalling  the  title  of  a  celebrated  opera, 
but  equally  recalling  the  fact  that  the  appellation  was  a 
ridiculous  misnomer,  or  that  the  French  are  only  resting  a 
little  in  republicanism  and  expect  very  soon  to  welcome  back 
a  Bonaparte  or  a  Bourbon.  Diamonds  of  what  “  Crown,” 
pray,  Messieurs  of  the  Direction  ?  And  why  not  “  Diamonds 
of  the  State,”  if  France  is  indeed  and  earnestly  a  republic? 

But  whatever  the  name,  the  exhibition  has  certainly  been, 
throughout  the  season,  one  well  entitling  it  to  a  place  in  the 
Vestibule  of  Honor,  and  one  producing  something  of  the  effect, 
in  allowing  the  Commons  to  feast  their  vision  on  the  rarest 
treasures  of  old  royalty,  which  was  indicated  by  the  wise  coal- 
heaver  in  thanking  the  handsome  but  scornful  Duchess  of 
Queensberry  for  “  the  use  of  her  diamonds  ”  (with  his  eyes). 
In  an  eight-sided  vitrine  (glass  case),  with  wide  Persian  canopy 
forming  the  top,  and  the  bottom  in  two  widening  elevations, 
have  reposed,  during  all  the  six  memorable  months,  wealth 
estimated  at  more  than  forty  millions  of  francs  ($8,000,000). 
Within  the  case,  on  a  raised  tablet  of  colored  velvets,  neces¬ 
sarily  also  eight-sided,  were  shown  this  bewildering  wealth  of 
diadems,  orders,  collars,  sword  hilts,  head  circlets,  bracelets, 
watches,  &c„  of  diamonds,  turquoises,  rubies,  sapphires,  and 
other  precious  stones,  many  of  them  recalling  the  old  luxu¬ 
ries  of  the  kings  of  France  and  their  favorites,  and  the  whole 
representing  that  enormous  value.  Among  the  principal  of 
these  maybe  hastily  mentioned,  the  great  “  Regent  Diamond,” 
bought  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  when  Regent,  for  2,500,000 
francs — called  by  the  English  the  “Pitt  Diamond,”  after  the 
great  Minister,  who  had  it  brought  from  India;  the  seven  “Maza- 
rin  Diamonds  ”  acquired  by  France  during  the  time  of  that  Min¬ 
ister  ;  a  diadem  of  pearls  and  diamonds,  of  which  the  one  great 
pearl  is  valued  at  500,000  francs  ;  the  “  Jarretiere,”  “Elephant 
of  Siam,’’  and  other  diamonds,  en  plaque,  presented  to  Napo* 


IN  THE  VESTIBULE  OF  HONOR. 


297 


leon  III.  by  different  sovereigns  ;  a  sword  hilt  in  diamonds, 
made  for  Charles  X.  ;  a  watch  in  diamonds,  originally  destined 
for  the  Dey  of  Algiers  ;  and  others  in  infinite  variety,  priceless 
as  nameless.  It  goes  without  saying  that  this  tempting  and 
dangerous  mass  of  wealth  has  been  at  every  moment  of  the  day 
guarded  by  gensd'armes  at  all  sides;  that  a  circling  and  on- 
moving  body  of  visitors  have  been  constantly  passing  around  it 
(no  positive  stop  before  it  being  permitted);  and  that  the  pride 
of  many  a  grand  dame  in  her  personal  adornments  of  jewelry,  has 
received  rude  shocks  from  this  unfortunate  opportunity'  ofcom- 
parison.  But  what  does  not  necessarily  reveal  itself  is,  that, 
supplementing  the  laborious  care  of  the  day',  the  whole  case  has 
every  night  been  lowered,  by  machinery,  into  a  fireproof  and 
thiefproof  vault  at  the  bottom  of  the  building,  iron  plates  let 
down  above  it,  and  the  beds  of  the  attendants  spread  on  the 
top  of  those  plates,  so  as  to  make  an  absolute  and  perfect  safety' 
for  what  was  properly  held  invaluable. 

Almost  immediately  adjoining  the  great  exhibition  last 
noticed,  was  the  pavilion  devoted  first  to  the  Sevres  Porce¬ 
lains,  displaying  the  very'  highest  blended  arts  of  the  modeller 
and  the  painter.  Among  the  objects  of  first  interest  in  this 
charming  collection,  grouped  principally  at  the  sides  of  the 
pavilion,  may  be  mentioned  the  following  literal  gems :  the 
two  large  and  celebrated  vases,  the  “Neptune”  and  the 
“Opera”;  two  superb  cydinder  vases,  one  representing  the 
“  City'  of  Paris,’’  by  Celos,  and  the  other  “  Flanders,’’  by 
Bulot ;  two  other  vases,  the  “  Vintage,”  by'  Derichsweiler,  and 
the  “Triumph  of  Truth,”  by'  Abel  Sch ilt  ;  a  matchless  panel¬ 
painting,  the  “  Labors  of  Hercules,”  by  Lameire  ;  two  Chinese 
Cabinets,  with  Persian  decorations  in  colors  and  gold  ;  a  jewel- 
coffer  of  great  elaboration,  by  Avisse  ;  an  ovoid  cabinet,  of 
gold  decoration  on  blue,  matchlessly  beautiful,  by'  David  ; 
and  a  jardiniere  with  plateau,  decorated  in  colors  and  gold,  by 
Bonnuit,  after  designs  by  Emile  Renard.  Let  it  be  said,  at 
once,  of  this  wondrous  Sevres  work,  that  no  previous  exhibi- 
i  ion  has  equalled  the  pieces  in  absolute  perfection;  though 
the  favored  visitors  of  past  years  at  the  manufactory  at  Sevres 


298 


PARIS  US'  78. 


have  necessarily  seen  the  excellence  equalled  and  the  variety 
many  times  repeated. 

Nearly  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  exhibition  of  Gobelin 
Tapestries,  having  place  in  the  same  pavilion,  as  also  the 
Beauvais.  Prominent  among  the  Gobelins,  which  those  not 
enslaved  by  the  canons  of  antique  art  consider  quite  equal  to 
the  best  of  the  old,  were  eight  decorative  panels,  intended  for 
the  buffet  of  the  Opera,  with  subjects  as  follows-  “Wine,” 
“Fruits,’’  “  The  Chase,”  “The  Fishes,”  “The  Pates,”  “The 
Ices,”  “The  Tea,”  and  “The  Coffee” — all  by  M.  Mazerolle. 
And  succeeding,  the  exquisite  pieces  :  “  Earth  and  Water,” 
after  Le  Brun;  the  “Madonna  of  St.  Jerome,”  and  “The 
Visitation,’’  after  Italian  masters;  the  “Conqueror,”  by 
Ehrman  ;  “Selene,”  by  Machard  ;  “Modelling”  and  “Sculp¬ 
ture,”  two  decorative  panels,  by  Le  Chevalier-Chevignard ; 
“The  Study,’’ after  Fragonard;  “Penelope;”  “  St.  Agnes  ;  ” 
“Melancholy;  ”  “St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,”  after  a  tapestry 
of  1594,  belonging  to  La  Marechale  MacMahon  ;  and  a  cai'pette 
of  more  than  100  yards,  with  green,  yellow  and  red  flowers  and 
branches  on  a  black  ground,  equally  novel  and  beautiful,  and 
destined  for  the  Palace  of  Fontainebleau.  In  the  exhibition 
of  the  Beauvais, ’’’immediately  succeeding  the  Gobelins,  were 
“The  Lion  Grown  Old,”  the  “Cock  and  Pearl,”  and  the 
“Wolf  Become  Shepherd” — all  after  Oudry ;  “Dogs,” 
“  Hares,”  “  Pheasants  ”  and  “  Ducks,”  after  Desportes  ;  “  Dead 
Nature,”  after  Monnoyer. 

These  rare  exhibitions  literally  filled  that  portion  of  the 
Vestibule  o'f  Honor  extending  southward,  or  left,  from  the 
centre  entrance.  At  the  extremity,  under  the  grand  pavilion 
of  the  ehd  dome,  was  the  equestrian  statue  of  Charlemagne, 
by  Rochet.  This  noble  statue,  full  of  character  though  by  no 
means  strikingly  original,  had  the  singular  honor  of  being 
elevated  on  a  monument  literally  the  body  cf  a  miniature 
church,  in  bronze,  with  the  smaller  works  of  art  of  the 
founder  set  in  the  sides  as  in  niches. 

This  completing  the  curiosities  of  the  southern  end  of  the 
Vestibule,  turn  we  to  the  contents  of  the  opposite  end,  the 


IN  THE  VESTIB  ULE  OF  HONOR. 


299 


northern— once  more  proceeding  from  the  great  clock  under 
the  central  dome. 

On  the  right  of  the  clock,  occupying  nearly  a  correspond¬ 
ent  position  to  that  of  the  “  crown  diamonds  ”  of  France,  was 
a  vitrine  containing  the  “  English  diamonds  ” — generic  term, 
including  all  gems  of  that  derivation.  This  collection,  though 
not  strikingly  large,  is  said  to  have  been  worth  about  ^2,000,- 
000  or  $10,000,000.  Of  the  special  features  composing  it,  only 
a  few  can  be  mentioned.  Among  the  first  meeting  the  view, 
was  a  crown  formed  of  a  violet  velvet  cap,  literally  covered 
with  pearls  of  the  greatest  size  and  perfection,  the  whole  band 
or  circlet  in  very  large  diamonds.  Another  diadem,  contain¬ 
ing  no  less  than  eighty-six  diamonds  of  great  size  and  un¬ 
equalled  lustre,  is  said  to  have  had  in  the  centre  the  cele¬ 
brated  “  Kohinoor,”  or  “  Mountain  of  Light,”  long  known  as 
one  of  the  most  inestimable  possessions  of  the  Ouecn  of 
England.  Seeing  it,  the  Governor  took  leave  to  doubt,  at  the 
moment,  and  takes  leave  to  doubt,  to-day,  whether  that 
marvellous  brilliant  was  really  present,  or  whether  its  place 
was  not  filled  by  the  splendid  substitute  well  known  for  so 
long  a  time  to  have  held  the  place  of  it  at  the  Tower  of  Lon¬ 
don,  while  Her  Majesty  kept  the  original  in  personal  charge 
at  Windsor  Castle.  If  so  much  jealousy  has  all  the  while 
existed  with  reference  to  its  charge,  by  the  Queen,  how  is  it 
likely  that  the  Kohinoor  would  be  sent  across  the  Channel 
and  allowed  to  remain  for  six  months  in  an  exhibition  which 
she  did  not  visit  ?  Can  we  not  have  some  official  statement, 
settling  the  question  whether  we  really  saw  the  Kohinoor  in 
this  instance?  And  if  such  a  statement  has  been  made,  when 
was  it  made,  and  who  saw  it  ? 

A  double  diadem  follows,  in  this  collection,  of  diamonds  and 
emeralds,  bearing  in  the  centre  the  great  stone  of  Kandavass}r, 
estimated  at  nearly  one  million  of  dollars,  and  that  would  be 
worth  more  than  twice  as  much,  but  for  a  defect  not  apparent 
to  any  one  but  a  lapidary.  This  is  succeeded  by  probably  the 
most  beautiful  and  certainly  the  costliest  collar  in  the  world, 
composed  of  one  hundred  and  eight  diamonds,  with  the 


300 


PARIS  IN  78. 


largest  known  emerald  supplying  the  centre  piece.  Then  fol¬ 
low  collars,  agraffes,  clasps,  &c.,  in  endless  number  and  im¬ 
mense  value  ;  two  small  Indian  shields,  the  one  studded  with 
large  diamonds  in  the  centre  and  the  other  with  still  larger 
emeralds  ;  pistols,  veritably  incrusted  with  gems,  and  sword- 
hilts  similarly  buried  in  brilliants. 

From  this,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  (no  pun  intended)  ex¬ 
hibits  in  the  whole  exhibition,  we  must  pass  to  the  Indian  Pa¬ 
vilion  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  collection  filling  and 
surrounding  it.  This  stood  still  to  the  right  of  the  clock  in 
the  centre,  filling  a  large  part  of  the  remaining  space  of  the 
Vestibule  of  Honor,  and  extending  backward  into  that  part 
of  the  Section  of  Strangers  especially  belonging  to  Great 
Britain. 

Of  the  Pavilion,  one  cannot  think  of  any  words  to  over¬ 
praise  its  beauty  and  taste;  albeit  a  French  critic  says  of  it 
(we  translate) : — “  It  is  borrowed,  above  all,  from  those  sou¬ 
venirs  of  the  Punjaub  or  of  Cashmere,  which  make  Indian 
models  really  English.  It  is  not  of  the  style  of  Calcutta,  nor 
of  Madras,  nor  of  Delhi,  nor  of  Benares,  the  sacred  city  of 
the  Ganges.  It  is  much  more  fanciful.  To  find  the  idea  for  a 
construction  of  this  kind,  double-storied,  and  surrounded 
with  thin  wooden  columns,  the  whole  painted  in  sombre  red  ; 
with  the  arabesques  square  ;  with  coquettish  and  mysterious 
windows,  finely  indented  ;  with  quantities  of  cupolas,  and,  on 
the  whole,  the  aspect  of  a  red  kettle  ; — the  architect,  Mr. 
Clarke,  needed  to  mount  to  the  Higher  Indies.”  In  spite  of 
this  delicate  ridicule,  all  the  while  to  some  extent  describing 
it,  the  Pavilion  was  very  handsome,  a3  already  said — the  two 
ends  being  two-storied  kiosks,  each  crowned  by  four  flat- 
round  Mohammedan  domes,  and  each  slenderly  columned  at 
both  stories;  while  the  connection,  of  some  length,  was  made 
by  a  colonnade  of  one  story,  with  balustraded  practicable 
roof;  and  the  kiosks  giving  admission  to  the  privileged  had 
their  free  ornamentation  added  to  by  rich  curtains. 

In  this  Pavilion,  itself  sufficiently  a  curiosity  to  warrant  the 
length  of  description,  was  displayed  the  shawls,  tissues,  and 


IN  THE  VESTIBULE  OF  HONOR. 


301 


many  of  the  silken  and  fine  woollen  goods  belonging  to  the 
collection  brought  home  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  from  his 
Indian  visit  in  1875— a  part  purchases,  but  a  large  proportion 
presents  of  loyalty  from  the  rulers  and  nobles  of  the  Oriental 
dominion.  The  Governor  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of 
inspecting  the  whole  of  the  collection  at  the  India  Museum  at 
South  Kensington,  in  1876,  and  had  then  expressed  the 
opinion  that  a  passage  aoross  the  Atlantic  would  be  well  re¬ 
paid  by  that  single  privilege.  No  need  to  say  that  he  was 
glad  to  renew  the  acquaintance,  and  once  more  to  inspect 
some  of  the  rarest  works  of  the  East,  under  auspices  addition¬ 
ally  favorable. 

There  is  no  intention  of  attempting  to  describe  or  enumer¬ 
ate  the  articles  of  this  collection,  contained  in  a  multitude  of 
glass  cases  surrounding  the  Pavilion  and  the  equestrian  statue 
hereafter  to  be  noticed.  Jewels  and  jewelled  articles  of  every 
conceivable  name  and  every  variety  of  precious  stone  ; 
swords,  daggers  and  firearms,  with  the  stocks  crusted  with 
gems  ;  boxes  and  cylinders  of  solid  carved  gold,  in  which  the 
addresses  of  welcome  of  different  dependencies  had  been 
made  to  the  Prince  ;  other  boxes  and  caskets  of  the  most 
fragrant  and  precious  woods,  rich  with  the  most  elaborate  in¬ 
laying  and  the  most  laborious  carving  possible  to  that  mate¬ 
rial  ;  silken  and  velvet  stuff',  and  cloths-of-gold,  beggaring 
the  ideas  of  so-called  civilized  nations  ;  saddlecloths  and 
housings  used  by  the  Prince  in  various  receptions,  all  oi  pure 
bullion  embroidery,  and  some  with  the  flowers  in  precious 
stones  ;  pictures,  in  costly  settings,  of  most  of  the  Oriental 
dignitaries;  robes  of  honor,  carpets,  umbrellas  of  state,  jew¬ 
elled  bucklers,  fans,  sandals,  works  in  the  rarest  tropical 
feathers — these,  and  a  hundred  rare  and  valuable  objects  im¬ 
possible  to  dwell  in  any  one  memory  in  particulars,  made  up 
a  whole  suggesting  that  the  Arabian  Nights’  Entertainments 
may  have  been  less  exaggerated  than  commonly  supposed, 
and  bringing  the  costly  luxuries  of  the  Southern  Orient  to 
Western  Europe,  as  they  have  never  before  been  brought  in 
all  ether  instances  combined. 


302 


PARIS  IN  78. 


These  emblems,  at  once  of  'the  connection  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  with  the  Exposition,  in  the  arrangement  of  which  he 
had  borne  so  prominent  a  part,  and  with  the  power  of  England 
in  the  East, — concluded  and  in  some  sense  culminated,  in  a 
noble  bronze  equestrian  statue  of  the  Prince,  standing  in 
front  of  the  Pavilion,  and  conveying  very  perfectly  the  form 
and  face  of  the  subject,  bare-headed,  wearing  the  uniform  of  a 
Field  Marshal,  and  ordered  by  Sir  Albert  Sassoon,  of  Bombay, 
at  the  time  of  the  Prince’s  visit  to  India,  for  erection  at 
Bombay. 

One  other  object  of  interest  in  the  Vestibule  of  Honor,  de¬ 
mands  notice— standing  at  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  Ves¬ 
tibule,  and  thus  occupying  the  same  corresponding  place  in 
that  end,  held  by  the  Statue  of  Charlemagne  in  the  other. 
This  was  the  Trophy  of  Canada,  a  tall  and  tasteful  erection 
in  native  Canadian  woods,  of  some  four  stories,  and  graceful 
enough  in  shape  and  construction  to  have  been  an  actual 
temple  to  Labor.  In  the  trophy  itself  was  necessarily  em¬ 
bodied  much  of  the  wealth  of  Canada,  in  her  unequalled  tim¬ 
ber  production  ;  and  around  it  were  hung  canoes  and  other 
productions  characteristic  other  people  and  climate,  making 
up  a  veritable  artistic  triumph  for  the  Dominion,  and  show¬ 
ing  how  much  could  be  made  out  of  plain  materials  by  the  un¬ 
erring  hand  of  Taste. 


ixixxint'. 

THE  FACADES  OF  THE  RUE  DES  NATIONS. 

Starting  out  from  the  Vestibule  of  Honor,  which  we  have  so 
closely  examined,  and  running  down  from  a  little  to  the  right 
of  the  central  clock  in  the  vestibule,  all  the  way  to  the  Gal¬ 
lery  of  Labor  (“  Gallerie  de  Travail  ”)  at  the  other  end  of  the 
Main  Palace,  was  an  open  space,  adjoining  on  the  northern 
side,  the  Strangers'  Section  of  the  Palace,  forming  an  uncov¬ 
ered  street  designated  as  the  Rue  des  Nations  (“  Street  of 
Nations  ”),  and  having  on  the  southern  side  the  Facades  con¬ 
nected  with  different  national  exhibitions,  erected  by  the  vari¬ 
ous  countries  in  conformity  with  their  own  ideas,  and  sup¬ 
plying  somewhat  of  the  deficiency  in  what  could  be  called 
“  national  structures,”  shown  by  this  Exposition  in  compari¬ 
son  with  that  of  1867.  It  is  with  this  “  Rue  des  Nations  ”  and 
the  Facades  forming  it  that  we  have  next  to  do,  in  a  brief  ex¬ 
amination  of  the  styles  of  architecture  displayed  in  those 
Facades. 

[In  this  examination,  necessarily  the  styles  and  orders  of  the 
architecture  become  important  features.  Meanwhile,  neither 
the  writer  nor  the  great  body  of  his  readers  can  be  expected 
either  to  use  or  understand  the  technical  terms  of  the  science  ; 
and  all  attempted  here  is  the  use  of  such  words,  suggesting 
comparisons  with  commonly  understood  shapes,  as  seem  most 
likely  to  convey  ideas  of  the  appearance  of  different  buildings 
without  the  aid  of  illustrations.] 

This  typical  and  extraordinary  “  street  ”  was  considerably 
over  one-third  of  a  mile  in  extent — 2,115  feet  ,n  point  of  fact — 
or  equal  to  more  than  ten  “  blocks  ”  of  an  ordinary  street  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  Its  whole  length  was  by  no  means 
filled  with  the  Facades,  no  less  than  five  of  the  French  build¬ 
ings  intervening  at  intervals,  while  a  much  wider  “  break  ” 
was  made  from  the  space  occupied  by  the  Pavilion  of  the  City 
of  Paris,  and  the  two  broad  transverse  allies  crossing  the 


30i 


PARIS  IN  J 78. 


whole  Champ  de  Mars  from  the  Porte  Rapp  to  the  Porte 
Dessaix  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  last-mentioned  building, 
and  correspondingly  from  the  Wine  Exhibit  to  the  Russian 
and  Hungarian  annexes  on  the  western. 

Coming  first  of  the  foreign  list  (non-French),  as  leaving  the 
Vestibule  of  Honor,  were  no  less  than  five  buildings  forming 
the  English  Facade, — a  number  well  warranted  by  the  extent 
of  the  exhibit  of  Great  Britain,  and  equally  by  the  excellent 
taste  giving  to  it  so  much  and  such  agreeable  variety. 

The  first  of  these  fine  edifices  was  a  seignorial  mansion  of 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  of  red  brick,  with  white  stone  bal- 
lusters,  and  occupied  by  the  English  Commission.  The  sec¬ 
ond  was  the  Pavilion  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  built  after 
designs  by  Mr.  Gilbert  Redgrave,  and  offering  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  possible  examples  of  the  Elizabethan  style  of 
architecture.  (The  French  say,  “reproducing  the  front  of  a 
castle  which  the  Prince  possesses  in  England,”  which  may  or 
may  not  be  true,  and  may  or  may  not  interfere  with  the 
alleged  “  design  ”  by  Mr.  Redgrave.)  Enough  that  it  was  very 
beautiful  as  an  erection  and  exquisitely  appropriate  for  its 
office.  It  afforded  within,  a  vestibule,  a  dining-hall,  sky¬ 
lighted,  and  showing  the  extreme  of  tasteful  luxury  in  decor¬ 
ation,  walls,  tapestries,  carpets,  pictures,  and  indeed  all  appli¬ 
ances  ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  apartment  having  the 
same  Durpose,  either  in  England  or  on  the  Continent,  could 
have  been  found  more  suggestive  of  quiet  and  perfect  princely 
elegance.  It  also  supplied  an  exquisite  sleeping  chamber  for 
the  Princess  of  Wales  ;  the  official  bureau  of  the  Prince,  and 
several  other  apartments.  Meanwhile,  it  is  pleasant  to  say, 
that  visits  to  it  were  made  possible,  through  the  courtesy  of 
Mr.  Cunliffe  Owen,  Secretary  to  the  Commission,  and  so  well 
known  as  one  of  the  ablest  promoters  of  international  exhi¬ 
bitions.  Following  this  came  a  mansion,  appropriate  tc$'  a 
merchant,  say  in  the  suburbs  of  one  of  the  cities  of  the  Mid¬ 
lands,  built  of  timber  and  plaster  ;  then  a  delicious  little  cot¬ 
tage,  with  equally  delicious  little  panes  of  glass  in  its  diminu¬ 
tive  sashes,  and  the  air  of  having  been  built  for  roses  to 


NATIONAL  FACADES. 


305 


embrace  and  climb  over  ;  and  then  a  country  house,  equally 
in  keeping,  of  the  time  of  William  III.  Besides  these,  a  noble 
gateway  may  be  mentioned,  leading  in  between  the  two  prin¬ 
cipal  buildings  ;  the  posts  of  stone,  of  weight  and  elaboration 
fitting  them  for  a  country  residence  of  distinction,  and  sur¬ 
mounted  by  rampant  lions,  and  the  gate  of  ornamented 
wrought  iron. 

With  a  certain  appropriateness  as  connecting  two  peoples 
of  the  same  language,  the  Facade  of  the  United  States  of 
America  comes  next  to  be  considered,  after  that  of  Great 
Britain  ;  and  in  considering  it,  the  Governor  begs  to  take 
issue  with  a  considerable  number  of  undervaluers,  in  news¬ 
papers  and  otherwhere,  some  of  whom  have  spoken  of  it  as  a 
“mere  backwoods  schoolhouse,”  and  a  French  authority 
characterized  it  as  a  “  dock-warehouse.”  He  takes  leave  to 
say  that  it  was  somewhat  odd,  but  characteristically  so,  and 
showed  the  rare  art  of  combining  the  modest  and  the  effective 
in  an  extraordinary  degree.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  shape  of 
this  building,  making  no  pretence  to  eclectic  architecture,  it 
is  only  necessary  to  say  that  the  ground  floor  represented 
five  dice  laid  side  by  side  ;  the  next  story,  three  dice  laid  upon 
the  central  three  of  the  five  lower;  and  one  die  laid  upon  the 
central  one  of  the  three  beneath  it,  forming  the  low  square 
tower  of  the  top  story — open,  and  with  the  national  arms  in 
the  centre  and  the  national  flag  floating  above  it.  Each  of 
the  “  dice  ”  of  the  ground  floor  and  story  above  had  very 
large  windows  (showing  the  characteristic  of  the  “  Crystal 
Palace  ”  of  the  period,  so  far) — the  lower,  square-headed  and 
the  upper  round-headed.  Below  the  cornice  of  the  upper 
story  ran  a  close  row  of  shields,  bearing  the  arms  and  names 
of  States;  and  on  the  pilasters  of  both  stories  were  other  and 
more  richly  ornamented  shields,  with  upper  and  lower 
scrolled  appendages.  A  very  small  square  portico,  with  the 
words  “  Etats  Unis”  over  it,  formed  the  entrance.  "Was  all 
this,  in  natural  woods,  common-looking  and  shabby?  Let  the 
question  be  best  answered  by  the  fact  that  very  many  visitors, 
without  any  one  of  them  being  able  to  explain  why,  indefina- 


306 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


bly  thought  of  the  Hyde  Park  Crystal  Palace  (London,  1851) 
in  looking  at  it,  and  developed  the  agreement  in  after  and 
accidental  comparison  of  notes.  Need  it  be  said  that  the 
American  Commission  was  here  quartered,  and  that  it  showed 
appropriate  American  characteristics  throughout? 

The  Italian  Facade  is  the  next  to  be  considered  ;  and  the 
Commander  G.  B.  F.  Basile,  Professor  of  Architecture  at  the 
Royal  University  of  Palermo,  honored  his  country  equally 
with  himself  in  the  design  furnished  for  the  occasion.  It  is 
said  by  the  French  authorities,  to  have  been  “modelled  after 
the  beautiful  facade  of  a  Milanese  palace,”  which  may  or  may 
not  be  true,  as  the  Governor  remembers  nothing  at  Milan 
from  which  it  can  have  been  copied,  even  in  general  features. 
The  centre  was  a  square  monumental  porte,  with  escutch- 
eoncd  top,  and  a  noble  marble  column,  with  Corinthian  capi¬ 
tals,  on  either  side.  Spanning  this,  rose  over  the  centre  a 
round  arched  pediment,  elaborate  in  architecture,  pierced  to 
allow  of  the  dark  curtains  showing  from  within.  At  the  key 
of  this  arch  was  a  rich  arabesque  finial,  from  which  rose  the 
flagstaff  with  the  Italian  flag.  At  each  side  of  the  bottom  of 
this  arch,  was  a  sitting  emblematic  figure  ;  and  in  the  centre 
of  the  pediment  the  arms  of  Italy  were  broadly  displayed  on 
an  imperial  mantle.  On  each  side  of  this  portal  was  a  wingj 
the  extreme  cornice  lining  with  the  bottom  of  the  main  arch 
already  described,  and  each  wing  having  two  entrances,  each 
of  them  being  diminished  reproductions  of  the  centre,  with 
columns,  round  arch,  and  escutcheons.  At  the  termination, 
each  wing  had  a  small  statued  finial  ;  and  literally  the  whole 
facade  was  rich  with  elaborate  ornamentation,  as  proper  for 
that  Italy  which  is  recognized  as  the  “  home  of  Art.”  The 
heavy  dark  curtains  draped  and  festooned  within  the  main 
entrance,  and  also  within  the  corresponding  entrances  of  the 
wings,  contrasted  somewhat  sadly  with  the  light  color  of  the 
material  of  the  erection,  and  gave  the  whole  a  certain  grace¬ 
ful  sombreness  which  may  well  have  been  designed,  in 
memory  of  the  deceased  “  Re  Galantuomo.” 

Within  the  Italian  Facade  the  ornamentation  was  in  keeping 


NATIONAL  FACADES. 


307 


with  the  front  ;  and  also  within  were  to  be  seen  a  fine  bust  of 
Victor  Emmanuel  ;  portraits  of  King  Humbert  and  Queen  Mar¬ 
guerite  ;  many  statues,  statuettes  and  medallions,  representing 
Italian  artists,  poets,  statesmen,  &c.  ;  and  some  of  the  very 
finest  golden  mosaics  of  Florence  and  Murano. 

The  Swedish-Norwegian  Facade  followed  next  after  that  of 
Italy,  half  Europe  being  thus  shrunken  to  a  step,  and  the  land 
of  the  fiords  brought  side  by  side  with  that  of  the  Poland  the 
Arno.  In  this,  as  in  the  Swedish  building  on  the  Trocadero 
grounds,  there  was  a  marked  suggestion  of  Swiss  architecture, 
though  less  pronounced  than  in  that  instance,  and  with  much 
more  of  solidity  in  the  erection.  It  really  consisted  of  two 
chalets,  gabled  to  the  view,  with  the  right  hand  one  thrusting 
forward  its  upper  story,  much  broader  and  lower  than  the  left ; 
the  left  battered,  and  much  sharper-roofed  than  the  right ;  and 
a  lower  gallery,  side-roof  to  view,  connecting  them.  A  small 
sharp-roofed  entrance  marked  the  centre — the  arms  of  Sweden 
and  Norway  being  quartered  under  the  peaks  of  both  this  and 
the  right-hand  chalet ;  while  solid-looking  and  somewhat  long 
round-headed  windows,  with  double  pilasters  between,  a  part 
of  them  bearing  shields  of  arms,  gave  at  once  light  an  d  light¬ 
ness  to  the  whole.  This  facade  was  in  natural  woods  (princi¬ 
pally  of  northern  pine),  and  its  effect  was  generally  admitted 
to  be  strikingly  appropriate  while  full  of  a  poetical  simplicity. 

The  Japanese  Facade  was  at  once  a  wonder  of  strength,  sim¬ 
plicity  and  ugliness.  It  was  built  by  artisans  from  Jeddo,  and 
consequently  no  outsider  ever  knew  for  what  it  was  intended, 
as  a  representation.  Some  said,  a  temple  ;  some  said,  a  country 
house  ;  still  others,  a  fortification.  The  Governor  suggests, 
additionally,  a  barn,  with  intention  to  keep  the  contents  very 
safely.  For  nothing  else  was  ever  so  strong  as  the  heavy  san¬ 
dal-wood  gates,  and  the  iron-clasped  posts  that  held  them. 
Within  these,  there  was  a  gabled  porch,  with  the  word  “  Japan  ” 
very  boldly  displayed  ;  and  still  behind  this  was  a  low,  flat 
building,  with  an  awning-cornice,  and  not  even  a  pretence  at 
grace.  This,  outside,  merely,  No  one  has  denied  the  ex¬ 
cellence  of  the  Japanese  exhibit,  or  the  fact  that  the  nation  is 


21 


308 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


rapidly  working  its  way  to  the  front,  even  in  the  matter  of 
international  expositions.  It  should  be  said,  additionally,  that 
they  had  a  fountain,  on  each  side  of  the  inner  entrance,  a  gi¬ 
gantic  flower  in  majolica  ;  and  that  the  plans  of  Tokio  and 
chart  of  Japan,  within,  were  both  markedly  attractive. 

Naturally,  the  Chinese  Facade  comes  into  consideration, 
close  beside  that  of  Japan.  It  is  literally  impossible  to  des¬ 
cribe  it,  at  the  same  time  that  the  general  effect  must  be  ad¬ 
mitted  to  have  been  striking,  and  probably  appropriate.  The 
impression  of  the  facade  would  have  been  low  and  square,  with 
the  wing  portions  of  solid  national  brick-work  with  porcelain- 
work  plaques  in  the  centre,  and  the  entrance  sunken,  small, 
and  square,  with  an  ornamental  tablet  over  the  door, — but  for 
the  cornice,  which  was  fearfully  elaborate,  and  turned  up  at 
the  ends  like  a  Chinese  junk,  and  the  higher  central  tower, 
which  bore  the  same  aspect  of  an  enraged  colossal  butterfly, 
carrying  the  whole  structure  away  with  it  after  the  manner  of 
Aladdin’s  Lamp  or  Ilassan’s  Ca-rpet.  Perhaps,  after  a  long 
survey  of  all  this,  and  of  the  hideous  dragon  flag  flying  over  it, 
in  contrast  with  the  red  ball  of  Japan  on  white,  so  near,  one 
should  have  comprised  the  whole  comment  in  a  few  words: 
‘‘It  is  extraordinary  ;  it  is  almost  fearful  ;  but  it  is  Chinese!” 

The  Facade  of  Spain  was  exquisitely  beautiful— a  phrase 
conveying  literally  nothing,  without  specifications,  and  yet 
more  conclusive  than  all  explanations  possible.  It  was  Moor¬ 
ish,  in  the  somewhat  elaborate  style  of  that  order  :  a  central 
building  of  two  stories,  both  columned,  and  the  heads  of  the 
lower  columns  wide-spread,  fretted,  and  running  into  each 
other,  while  the  roof  widened  in  an  overhanging  cornice,  with 
arms  and  decorations  below  it,  and  a  Moorish  pinnacle 
crowned  all  ;  a  lower  wing  on  either  side,  with  an  immense 
bulge-round-headed  window  filling  nearly  all  the  lower  story 
and  a  colonnaded  gallery  of  five  arches  forming  the  upper  ; 
and  a  square  tower  supplying  either  end,  with  bulge-round¬ 
headed  entrance-wmy ;  a  great  circular  outer  arch,  with  the 
lower  part  of  the  circle  cut  away,  still  above,  and  the  upper 
story,  triple-windowed  and  rising  to. the  height  of  the  central 


NATIONAL  FACADES 


301) 


building,  bearing  the  national  shield  of  arms,  crowned  at  the 
embattled  cornice  with  flagstaff's  and  the  national  flag  above 
each.  It  goes  without  saying,  that  all  this  structure  was 
highly  ornamented,  and  that  it  bore  many  indefinable  remind¬ 
ers  of  that  wonder  among  the  buildings  of  earth,  the  Alham¬ 
bra  at  Grenada. 

The  Facade  of  Austria-Hungary,  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  of  the  succession,  was  simply  a  very  long  colon¬ 
nade,  forming  a  portico,  the  columned  arches  round  and  their 
crowns  elaborately  sculptured  in  figures,  wreaths,  scrolls,  &c. ; 
while  the  whole  entablature  was  also  richly  sculptured  ;  a  line 
of  pedestalled  statues  of  life  size  arrayed  along  the  front  above 
it;  statues  of  the  Emperor  Francis  Joseph,  Beethoven  and 
others  of  the  artistic  notabilities  of  the  Empire,  holding  sim¬ 
ilar  positions  between  the  arches,  at  the  ground  level  ;  nar¬ 
row  buildings,  of  three  stories,  with  windows,  and  similarly 
ornamented,  forming  the  terminations  of  a  design  equally 
strange  and  fanciful ;  and  a  tall,  spiral-fluted  flagstaff  at  the 
inner  corner  of  each  of  the  last  named,  bearing  aloft  the  flag 
of  the  United  Empire  which  has  lost  Venice  and  the  head¬ 
ship  of  Germany,  but  risen  higher  in  the  regard  of  the  world 
with  both  losses. 

The  Russian  Facade,  with  some  reminders  of  the  Moham¬ 
medan  combined  with  the  Muscovite,  is  said  to  have  been  a 
reproduction,  at  least  in  part,  of  the  old  Palace  of  Kolomna, 
near  Moscow,  where  Peter  the  Great  was  born,  and  whence 
sprung,  consequently,  much  of  the  greatness  of  modern  Russia. 
It  consisted  of  two  towers,  with  a  flat  connection  :  the  right- 
hand  one  square,  with  Saracen  open  gallery  and  chamfered 
roof  of  four  sides,  an  elaborate  staircase  (borrowed  from  the 
Kremlin)  descending  to  the  ground  level  ;  the  left-hand  one 
broader,  with  Tartar  arch  sprung  in  lront  of  the  broad-topped 
chamfered  roof,  and  the  principal  entrance  between  two  virtual 
towers  rising  from  the  ground,  windowed  in  two  stories,  and 
with  a  balcony  dividing  them  at  the  second.  All  this,  mean¬ 
while,  in  wood,  with  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  “  log  cabin,” 
and  forming  a  whole  as  incongruous  as  the  first  Napoleon  be- 


310 


PARIS  IN  78. 


lieved  the  Russian  character  to  be,  with  the  polish  of  Western 
Europe  overlaying  all  the  barbarism  of  the  Tartar. 

Of  the  Swiss  Facade,  one  was  puzzled,  at  the  first  glance,  to 
know  what  to  say,  and  precisely  what  it  really  meant.  It  was 
so  natural  to  expect  a  chalet  of  wood,  with  hanging  eaves, 
balconies,  and  carved  inscriptions,  that  nothing  else  seemed 
admissable,  from  the  Land  of  Tell.  A  second  and  longer  glance 
revealed  what  was  intended  ;  and  then  it  was  fully  understood 
how  noble  was  the  design  and  how  appropriately  executed. 
What  we  at  first  saw  was  a  veritable  gateway,  open,  round- 
arched,  and  between  two  massive  battered  piers  of  channeled- 
jointed  heavy  stones— the  rampant  bears  on  the  plain  top  of 
either  pier,  holding  shields-of-arms  between  them  ;  above  this, 
a  flat  round  arch,  deep,  open,  and  the  inside  of  it  of  blue,  sown 
with  golden  stars — with  a  clock  at  the  top  of  the  lower  arch, 
above  it  a  bell  on  a  slight  frame,  and  figures  on  either  side 
(said  to  be  relics  of  the  battle-field  of  Morat,  from  the  Museum 
of  Zurich)  holding  hammers  for  striking  the  hours;  a  railing 
on  either  side  of  the  clock,  extending  to  crows’-nests  similarly 
railed,  at  the  intersection  of  the  arch  and  the  piers;  above  the 
upper  arch  the  structure  extending  into  a  roof  flat  at  top 
and  with  the  double  pitch  of  the  old  Dutch  house  in  descent 
to  overhanging  eaves  ;  and  a  narrow  conical  belfry,  with  bell, 
crowning  the  summit.  This  was  what  we  at  first  saw,  and  so 
saw  an  apparent  incongruity.  What  we  afterward  saw  was 
that  this  heavy  arch  was  a  reproduction  of  one  of  the  old 
Swiss  city-gates,  through  which  the  Men  of  Grutli  may  have 
marched  home  from  victory ;  and  then  the  wooden-work  as¬ 
sumed  reason  as  copied  from  the  best  Swiss  domestic  archi¬ 
tecture,  and  the  noble  motto  of  those  Men  of  Grutli  crowned 
the  whole  with  a  charm  as  there  inscribed  ;  “  Un  Pour  Tous ! 
Tous  Pour  Un  !”  (“  One  for  all !  all  for  one  !”— stolen  by  Alex¬ 
andre  Dumas  as  the  cry  of  his  Three  Guardsmen).  There  was 
a  plain  wing  at  either  side,  with  enormous  half-round-arched 
window  in  each,  filled  with  the  wrought  glass  of  Zurich  ;  and 
above  the  windows  (a  little  suggesting  those  of  a  prison)  hung 
under  the  cornices  the  shields  of  the  Confederate  Cantons. 


XZXVL 

FACADES;  AND  THE  CITY-OF-PARIS  PAVILION. 

The  Belgian  Facade  has  been  proclaimed,  by  the  general 
voice,  the  finest  and  most  characteristic  of  all  in  the  Rue  des 
Nations,  though  there  may  occasionally  be  more  than  one 
dissenting  from  that  verdict.  It  was  said,  by  authority,  to 
have  been  “constructed  in  the  style  of  the  chateaux  and  old 
monuments  of  Belgium,  but  without  reproducing  any  one  edi¬ 
fice  in  particular;”  and  it  is  known  to  have  been  planned  by 
a  Belgian  architect,  M.  Janlet,  and  built  by  Belgian  workmen, 
of  marble,  stone  and  other  materials  brought  from  that  indus¬ 
trious  and  prosperous  Flanders  of  the  present.  It  was,  mean¬ 
while,  by  no  means  easy  to  describe  many  of  the  features 
absolutely  needing  the  technical  terms  of  architecture.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  two  elaborate  narrow  fronts,  with 
a  single  lower  window  in  each,  rose  to  a  second  story  with  a 
double  window  supported  by  caryatides  at  either  side  ;  and 
still  above,  an  elaborate  scrolled  gable,  pointed,  with  large 
round  window  ;  that  between  the  two,  falling  back  a  few  feet, 
rose  the  centre,  of  massive  stone — a  square  entrance  under  a 
round  arch,  with,  still  above,  the  windowed  third  story  of  a 
chateau,  and,  yet  above,  a  domed  roof  and  pointed  gable  of 
the  very  highest  elaboration.  Left  of  all,  rose  a  clock  tower, 
joined  to  the  leftermost  of  the  first-mentioned  by  the  body  of 
a  lower  building,  side  roof  to  view,  with  galleried  second 
story.  This  tower  was  eight-sided,  above,  and  diminished 
into  a  knobbed  low  spire,  also  eight-sided,  with  an  open  belfry 
crowning  all.  Above  the  central  arch,  the  proud  modern 
“Belgique”  stood;  and  it  scarcely  needs  to  be  said  that 
within  this  noble  facade  were  not  only  the  rooms  of  the  Bel¬ 
gian  Comm:ssion,  but  began  an  exhibition  only  equalled  by 
one  or  two  of  the  contributing  nations. 

The  Greek  Facade  was  intended  as  a  reproduction  of  an 
Athenian  mansion  of  the  time  of  Pericles,  with  a  portico 


312 


PARIS  IN  78. 


more  or  less  borrowed  from  the  Parthenon.  So  much  said, 
the  character  of  its  architecture  is  at  once  conveyed— plain, 
chaste,  Greek,  actually  seeming  tame  in  the  neighborhood  of 
so  much  deserving  of  the  term  flamboyant.  The  portico  was 
a  practicable  balcony  ;  and  there  were  two  entrances,  near  the 
right  one  of  which  stood,  on  a  high  pedestal,  a  statue  of 
Minerva  with  the  Greek  name  inscribed  “  Athenae.”  This 
facade  seemed  to  cling  closely  to  antiquity  :  it  is  doubtful 
whether  anywhere  else,  along  the  whole  Rue  des  Nations, 
there  was  better  proof  than  Greece  gave,  within,  of  being  in 
harmony  with  modern  progress. 

The  Danish  Facade,  much  smaller  and  really  very  different, 
had  a  certain  reminder  of  that  of  Belgium,  in  the  style  of 
erection.  It  was  of  red  brick  and  white  stone,  with  stucco 
columns  imitating  marble  at  the  entrance  of  the  tower  on  the 
right;  and  the  arms  of  Denmark  were  a  little  more  showily 
displayed  than  any  other  quartering  in  the  Rue  des  Nations, 
below  the  rounded  and  pointed  gable  of  the  same  tower.  To 
the  left  of  this,  was  a  veritable  house-front,  of  two  stories, 
with  a  doorway  and  two  windows  in  each,  and  an  ornamented 
scrolled  gable — the  plain  surface  of  the  front  in  white  stucco. 
Rumor  has  it  that  there  were  difficulties  about  the  moneys, 
leading  to  this  facade  being  far  less  elaborate  than  had  been 
first  intended. 

The  Facade  of  South  and  Central  America  had  a  peculiar 
charm  of  oddity,  in  its  left  square  tower  and  right  gable,  con¬ 
nected  by  a  lower  building  with  three  ornamented  Moorish 
columns  forming  a  colonnade  at  the  ground  level,  and  a  glass- 
enclosed  balcony  above  them.  Taken  as  a  whole,  this  struc¬ 
ture  seemed  much  more  likely  to  belong  to  Andalusia  or  some 
portion  of  Portugal,  whence  many  of  the  settlers  of  both 
South  and  Central  America  came,  than  to  the  lands  whence  it 
emanated  ;  and  it  was  voted,  as  understood,  ires  charmante,  by 
the  general  voice,  with  the  reflection  that  it  symbolized  the 
very  spirit  of  Spanish-American  derivation  and  life,  as  did  the 
exhibits  of  the  nations  erecting  it. 

The  next  Facade  was  really  a  quadruple  one — that  of  Persia, 


FACADES;  AND  PARIS  PAVILION. 


313 


Siam,  Tunis  and  Morocco.  It  also  contained  the  exhibition  of 
Cambodia,  and  that  of  Annam,  making  what  the  French  drolly 
called  “  Six  tetes  sous  un  meme  bonnet  ”  (six  heads  under  one 
bonnet).  It  goes  without  saying,  that  the  architecture  was 
“  somewhat  mixed,”  the  portion  contributed  by  Persia  having 
plenty  of  pointed  work  with  flowers  straying  over  a  blue 
ground,  more  or  less  representing  the  Mosque  of  the  Shah,  at 
Ispahan  ;  that  of  Siam  showing  plenty  of  brown  wood,  mixed 
up  rather  diabolically  than  otherwise,  and  with  the  White  Ele¬ 
phant  at  the  gate  ;  that  of  Tunis  being  decidedly  Moresco,  with 
the  continual  mixture  of  belts  of  white  and  red,  blue  and  red  ; 
and  that  of  Morocco  very  like  that  of  Tunis,  with  a  difference 
that  all  could  see  and  none  could  explain. 

Another  association  followed — that  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Luxembourg,  the  Republic  of  the  Val  d'Andorre,  the  Republic 
of  St.  Marin,  and  the  Principality  of  Monaco.  TheVal  d’Andorre, 
b}'  virtue  of  its  high  position  in  the  mountains,  contributed  the 
top  balustrade  ;  the  window  below,  with  an  escutcheon  of  three 
towers,  belonged  to  St.  Marin  ;  also  below,  the  front  of  the 
porte,  charged  with  lozenges  of  silver  and  red,  was  the  property 
of  Monaco;  while  Luxembourg  contributed  the  much  more 
important  part  of  the  reception  rooms,  wdth  the  lodge  copied 
from  a  Spanish  mansion  of  the  16th  century  belonging  to  the 
Grand  Duke.  What  gave,  however,  most  of  character  to  the 
whole,  was  the  handsome  octagonal  tower,  with  coquettish 
crosses,  thrown  out  a  little  on  the  Rue  des  Nations,  and  prob¬ 
ably  belonging  to  the  whole  combination. 

We  come,  now,  to  the  Facade  of  Portugal,  really  one  of  the 
most  impressive  of  the  whole  array,  and,  with  whatever  of 
propriety  involved,  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all. 
It  was,  undoubtedly,  a  reproduction  of  some  part  of  the  match¬ 
less  Belem  Castle,  near  Lisbon  ;  but  only  words  of  the  highest 
architectural  authority  (not  here  at  command)  could  describe 
it  adequately.  Speaking  in  general,  it  was  a  church-porch, 
with  high  round  arch  of  great  elaborateness,  floriated  and 
pointed  at  the  centre,  between  two  broad  piers,  magnificently 
ornamented,  with  canopied  niches  and  statues  at  the  centres. 


314 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


and  tapering  in  chamfers  to  points  at  top.  In  the  centre, 
above  the  arch,  the  point  of  that  arch  extended  higher  than 
the  side-points,  ending  in  an  elaborate  crossed  finial,  with  can¬ 
opied  statue  above  the  level  of  the  square  entablature  forming 
the  cornice  ;  and  between  the  centre  finial  and  the  side-points, 
a  floriated  railing  crossed,  forming  the  upper  finish.  Within 
the  main  arch,  two  entrance-ways,  with  flat-round  headings, 
had  an  ornamented  pier  in  the  centre,  with  the  statue  of  a  hi¬ 
dalgo  at  near  the  springing  of  the  arches,  other  statues  match¬ 
ing  this  at  the  sides  ;  and  above,  each  entrance-way  was  carried 
up  to  a  Gothic  arch,  with  pictures  in  bas-relief  filling  the  head¬ 
ings,  and  the  arms  of  Portugal  holding  the  space  immediately 
below  the  key  of  the  main  rounded  arch.  Within,  the  decora¬ 
tion  was  only  less  elaborate  than  this  so  imperfectly  described  ; 
and  the  whole  was  well  worthy  of  the  national  collection  to 
which  this  formed  the  introduction. 

The  Facade  of  Holland  was  said  to  have  been  a  reproduction 
of  some  parts  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  at  the  Hague — a  statement 
which  the  Governor's  memory  can  neither  accept  nor  deny. 
At  all  events,  the  style  of  the  structure,  in  red  brick  and  white 
stone,  horizontally  striped,  was  very  effective;  and  the  style 
was  both  pleasing  and  substantial.  The  facade  was  a  square 
structure,  of  two  stories,  with  a  central  gabled  elevation  rising 
above  the  balustradcd  side-roof;  and  at  the  right  of  all  a 
tower  with  entrance-way  and  window,  ending  in  a  cupola  of  a 
balcony  and  two  stories,  entirely  open,  telescoped,  and 
crowned  with  a  point  bearing  the  rampant  lion.  In  the  centre 
of  the  gabled  elevation,  were  the  arms  of  Holland,  elabor¬ 
ately  displayed  ;  and  on  the  entablature  of  this,  above  the 
roof  and  below  the  arms,  four  niches  held  the  same  number 
of  statues.  The  entrance-way  was  small  and  simple,  with  a 
niched  statue  above  it  and  a  head  in  a  circular  opening  at  the 
level  of  the  second-story  heading.  It  only  remains  to  say 
that  there  were  two  main  windows,  two  smaller  ones,  and  a 
circled  door-heading,  at  the  ground  floor,  four  windows  at  the 
second  story,  and  one  on  the  gabled  elevation, — and  that  these 
windows  were  all  diamond-paned,  with  singular  appropriate- 


FACADES;  AND  PARIS  PAVILION. 


315 


ness  to  the  horizontal  striping  of  the  architecture.  This  con¬ 
cludes,  in  effect,  the  line  of  Facades  of  the  Nations,  on  the 
Rue  of  that  name.  But  as  the  line  was  broken,  at  about  the 
middle,  by  a  building  of  very  large  size  and  great  importance, 
there  seems  a  certain  appropriateness  in  introducing  that 
structure  and  its  contents  as  belonging  to  the  same  array. 

This  was  the  Pavilion  of  the  City  of  Paris,  in  the  erection 
and  the  filling  of  which  the  “fair  City”  only  embraced  the 
privilege  well  belonging  to  it  as  the  scene  of  one  of  the  great 
exhibitions, — by  there  putting  on  view,  under  favorable  cir¬ 
cumstances,  many  of  those  articles  which  could  not  so  well 
come  into  the  general  display  of  the  country  inclosing  it. 

This  Pavilion,  of  which  the  architect  was  M.  Bouvard,  was 
in  general  shape  an  elongated  square,  rather  low  in  effect  as 
a  whole,  but  relieved  by  the  gable  points  of  raised  roofs  at  the 
corners,  with  the  arms  of  the  city  in  the  tympan  of  the  pedi¬ 
ment  of  each,  and  flagstaff's,  bearing  banderols,  rising  from 
heavy  ornamented  piers  at  each  side  of  the  gable  points,  and 
from  other  small  pointed  false  gables  in  the  middle  of  the 
sides.  There  were  several  principal  entrances,  under  the 
gable  points  before  named  ;  and  the  sides  were  colonnades 
supported  by  thin  ornamented  iron  columns — cast  iron  play¬ 
ing  a  very  important  part  throughout  the  construction,  and 
ornamentation  in  that  metal  being  carried  to  great  height  and 
with  unexceptionable  taste. 

In  the  interior  of  this  pavilion  were  displayed,  as  already  in¬ 
dicated,  innumerable  articles  connected  with  the  city,  and 
coming  under  the  provinces  of  the  managements  of  the  Fine 
Arts,  Public  Works,  Public  Assistance,  Central  Administra¬ 
tion,  Primary  and  Professional  Instruction,  Public  Waj's, 
Water  and  Drainage,  Promenades  and  Plantations,  Public 
Health,  Fire  Service,  and  other  departments. 

In  the  First  Hall,  on  the  right  of  the  entrance,  was  the  office 
of  the  Prefect  of  Police  of  the  Exposition  ;  on  the  left,  the 
office  of  the  Expositionary  Commission.  On  panels,  right  and 
left,  were  large  pictures  of  religious  subjects.  In  the  Second 
Hall,  at  near  the  entrance,  stood  a  noble  typical  statue  of  the 


31G 


PARIS  JJV  ’78 


City  of  Paris,  standing  on  the  bow  of  a  boat  bearing  the  arms 
of  the  city  and  the  motto:  “  Fluctuat  Nec  Mergitur.”  Here 
also  followed  large  panels,  bearing  the  names  of  Paul  Dela- 
roche,  Bonnat,  Maillart,  &c.,  portraying  allegorical  and  his¬ 
torical  subjects  more  or  less  nearly  connected  with  the  destiny 
of  Paris.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  as  especially  no¬ 
ticeable,  the  “Christ”  and  the  “St.  Vincent  de  Paul”  of 
Bonnat;  the  “Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Olives,”  of  Delacroix; 
the  “  Conquerors  of  the  Bastile,”  by  Delaroche  ;  and  among 
the  sculptures  in  near  proximity,  the  “Gloria  Victis  ”  of 
Mercie,  and  some  of  the  most  imposing  works  of  Chapu,  Cabet, 
Millet  and  Carrier- Belleuse. 

The  hints  already  given  convey  sufficiently  the  practical 
character  of  most  of  the  contents  of  the  Pavilion,  in  which 
models,  reliefs,  and  special  furniture,  assisted  so  powerfully  in 
understanding  the  great  resources  and  corresponding  labors 
of  the  city;  but  of  the  models  it  should  be  remarked,  before 
leaving,  that  especial  interest  attached  to  those  of  the  Church 
of  St.  Joseph,  in  the  Quartier  dn  Temple ,  and  that  of  the  recon¬ 
structed  Hotel  de  Ville,  as  it  will  appear  on  its  completion. 


FRENCH  ART  AT  TIIE  EXPOSITION. 


In  an  earlier  paper  of  this  volume,  “The  Exposition  That 
Was  Opened  ”  (VIII),  something  has  been  said  of  the  art 
status  of  the  collection  ;  and  in  that  paper  has  also  been  ex¬ 
pressed  the  opinion  that  the  contributions  of  the  different 
countries — especially  the  pictures — have  been  markedly  want¬ 
ing  in  great  works  belonging  to  great  names,  in  comparison 
with  the  show  made  by  the  same  countries  in  1867.  It  is  with 
much  gratification  that,  since  the  writing  of  that  opinion,  the 
Governor  has  chanced  upon  more  than  one  elaborate  article 
conclusively  showing  that  the  picture  exhibition  of  1878  has 
been  immeasurably  better  than  that  of  1867.  He  does  not 
admit  the  truth  of  the  statement;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  know 
that  those  bearing  the  rank  of  accomplished  critics  have  been 
pleased,  and  that,  as  a  consequence,  even  a  hurried  examina¬ 
tion  of  the  collections  of  different  nations  must  have  a  certain 
interest. 

Incidentally,  in  other  descriptions,  some  of  the  more  colos¬ 
sal  sculptures  of  the  season  have  been  alluded  to — as  the 
“  Renown  ”  and  others,  of  the  Trocadero  Palace,  the  Basin,  &c., 
and  the  “Charlemagne  ’’occupying  the  southern  termination 
of  the  Pavilion  of  Honor  of  the  Main  Palace.  Of  some  of 
the  remaining  sculptures  belonging  to  the  different  collec¬ 
tions  there  will  be  a  word  to  say,  later  on  ;  at  present  we 
have  to  do  with  French  pictures,  with  only  a  word,  preceding, 
of  the  monument  to  General  Lamoriciere,  by  Dubois,  stand¬ 
ing  on  the  Rue  de  France,  outside  the  Fine  Art  Saloons,  and 
destined  for  the  Cathedral  of  Nantes.  It  was  a  fine  soldierly 
figure,  and  (judging  from  portraits)  well  conveying  the  char¬ 
acteristics  of  that  soldier  ;  but,  oddly  enough,  of  the  four 
allegorical  figures  forming  supports  at  the  angles,  the  two  of 
“  Military  Courage  ”  and  “Charity”  were  in  bronze,  while  the 
remaining  two,  “Faith”,  and  “  Meditation,”  were  in  plaster-— 


318 


PATHS  IN  78. 


presumably  to  be  supplied  by  their  duplicates  in  bronze,  later. 
Taken  all  in  all,  this  monument  was  a  noble  one,  to  one  of  the 
true  heroes  of  the  Algerian  wars,  the  foe  of  the  Third  Em¬ 
peror  at  the  coup  d'etat,  and  one  who,  no  doubt,  owed  his  spe¬ 
cial  place  in  the  Nantes  Cathedral  to  his  having  taken  com¬ 
mand  of  the  Papal  troops  after  his  exile  from  France  by  the 
Emperor,  until  their  defeat  by  the  Piedmontese  at  Castelfi- 
dento. 

The  location  of  the  Fine  Art  Department  of  the  Exposition 
may  be  easily  understood,  even  by  those  who  did  not  visit  it, 
with  the  explanation  that  it  was  principally  to  be  found  in  a 
range  of  buildings  at  the  exact  centre  of  the  Main  Palace, 
extending  from  the  Vestibule  of  Honor  at  the  eastern  end  to 
the  Gallery  of  Labor  at  the  Western,  and  with  the  Rue  des 
Nations  (already  examined,  as  being  fronted  by  the  Facades) 
forming  its  northern  boundary,  and  the  Rue  de  France,  par¬ 
allel  with  it,  supplying  the  southern. 

It  has  been  computed  that  there  were  from  five  thousand  to 
six  thousand  works  of  pure  art  in  the  whole  exhibition — 
France  showing  about  two-tbirds  of  the  whole  number;  Eng¬ 
land  having  about  seven  hundred  ;  Belgium  and  Italy  four 
hundred  each  ;  Germany  (pictures  only)  some  two  hundred  ; 
the  United  States  of  America  something  less  than  two  hun¬ 
dred  ;  and  the  other  countries  having  varied  representations, 
with  only  two  or  three  going  beyond  the  latter  number.  Nec¬ 
essarily,  not  only  in  number  but  in  interest,  the  French  col¬ 
lection  has  held  pre-eminence,  though  no  occasion  is  admitted 
for  changing  the  opinion  already  enunciated,  of  the  absence 
of  master  works. 

In  noticing  the  Pavilion  of  the  Ville  de  Paris,  it  has  already 
been  said  that  two  of  the  best  works  of  Leon  Bonnat  were 
there  on  view — his  “  Christ  on  the  Cross,”  from  the  Court  of 
Assizes  of  the  Palace  of  Justice,  treading  close  upon  the  heels 
of  the  most  reverent  antiquity  in  portrayal  of  the  Man  of 
Sorrows  in  his  extreme  hour, — and  his  “Saint  Vincent  de 
Paul  Taking  the  Irons  off  a  Galley  Slave,’’  from  the  Church  of 
St.  Nicholas  des  Champs,  with  a  very  noble  individualization 


FRENCH  ART  EXHIBIT 


319 


of  that  pattern  of  legendary  Christian  humility.  Of  Bonnat’s 
there  was  also  a  second  painting  from  the  Palace  of  Justice — 
“Justice  Between  Guilt  and  Innocence,”  telling  the  story  of 
painful  but  inevitable  decision  with  great  force.  This  great 
artist  also  exhibited  several  portraits,  instinct  with  his  per¬ 
sonal  power — those  of  “  Don  Carlos,”  “  M.  Thiers,”  “  M.  Rob¬ 
ert  Fleury,”  “  Mme.  Pasca,”  “  A  Lady  ”  (unnamed),  &c. 

Perhaps  better  known  among  Americans,  than  Bonnat,  is 
the  dead  Corot,  many  of  whose  works  have  crossed  the  Atlan¬ 
tic.  Of  his  landscapes  in  the  collection  too  much  cannot  be 
said  in  approval  of  their  color  and  feeling  ;  while  evidently  he 
materially  improved,  during  the  past  few  years  of  his  life,  in 
the  substitution  of  finish  for  the  massing  of  color.  Two  land¬ 
scapes  by  Daubigny  attracted,  worthily,  perhaps,  as  much  at¬ 
tention  as  any  others  in  the  exhibition.  The  one  was  a  “  Spring  ” 
in  the  open  country,  with  blossoming  apple-trees  in  the  fore¬ 
ground,  low  hills,  a  flecked  blue  sky,  and  a  peasant  girl  wan¬ 
dering  through  the  half-grown  grain  with  her  lover  ;  the  other 
a  “Winter,”  with  a  road  through  deep  snow,  a  reddish  winter 
sky,  straggling  trees,  circling  crows,  and  a  low  light  wonder¬ 
fully  managed.  With  these,  and  of  corresponding  merit  in 
spite  of  the  yet  lower  standing  of  the  artists,  should  be  named 
a  landscape  by  Pontelin,  on  very  large  canvas,  of  a  declining 
field,  with  trees  half  bare  and  melancholy  rocks,  and  a  gray 
sky  seeming  to  emit  light  at  all  points  ;  and  one  by  Sege,  of 
a  plain,  with  a  peasant,  dogs  and  sheep  in  the  foreground,  and 
the  distance  broken  by  farm  houses  and  a  remote  church  spire, 
all  lying  under  the  warm  light  of  a  summer  afternoon. 

Still  beside  these  should  be  mentioned  some  landscapes  by 
Pelouse,  the  largest  of  them  a  rocky  hillside,  with  a  spring  in 
the  foreground,  some  figures  kneeling  around  it,  and  a  twiligh'f 
sky  marking  the  fact  that  they  are  not  resting  from  their  daily 
labor  but  reposing  after  it.  Another  shows  some  fine  trees, 
with  the  colors  of  the  sunset  behind  them,  admirably  and 
chastely  managed.  Ofother  landscapes  of  more  than  average 
merit,  there  were  some  of  the  Breton  coasts  and  marine  sections 
adjacent,  by  MM.  Eugene  Feyen  and  Feyen-Perrin,  apotheosiz- 


320 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


ing  the  fisherwomen  and  bathing-women  of  those  picturesque 
regions,  and  conveying  water  effects  with  force  and  propriety  ; 
some  views  along  the  Valley  of  the  Allier,  of  decided  merit,  by 
M.  Ilarpignies  ;  some  good  work,  suggestive  of  Troyon,  by  M. 
Van  Marcke,  &c. 

Passing  from  landscape  to  figure  subjects,  perhaps  it  may  be 
said  that  the  most  impressive  work  in  the  collection  was  the 
“Annunciation  to  the  Shepherds,’’  of  Bastien  Lepage,  whose 
“Haymaking,”  in  the  Salon  of  the  year,  should  have  been  on 
view  in  the  Champ  de  Mars.  The  angel,  in  this  picture,  falsi¬ 
fied  the  usual  traditions  of  art,  by  being  ethereal  in  suggestion  ; 
and  the  figures  and  attitudes  of  the  wondering  shepherds, 
aroused  from  sleep  by  their  watch-fire,  and  regarding  the  ce¬ 
lestial  visitant  with  wondering  awe  and  belief,  showed  the  very 
highest  religious  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  painter — not  too 
common  in  works  of  this  class,  in  which  so  much  of  truth  is 
often  sacrificed  to  anatom}''. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  works  of  Bonnat,  from  the 
Palace  of  Justice.  Similarly,  one  of  the  most  important  works 
of  Cabanel  came  to  the  Exposition  from  the  Pantheon — the 
“St.  Louis,”  a  series  of  large  decorative  paintings  depicting 
the  most  notable  scenes  in  the  career  of  the  canonized  king. 
It  need  not  be  said  that  this  historic  grouping  showed  much 
of  the  best  force  of  the  artist ;  but  a  better  appeal  was  made  to 
the  judgrnent  of  the  ordinary  critic  by  either  ot  two  pictures 
of  the  same  artist :  “  Tamar  and  Absalom,”  wringing  the  heart 
with  an  inexpressible  pity,  and  the  “  Death  of  Francesca  di 
Rimini  ’’filling  it  with  an  absorbing  grief. 

Even  a  more  remarkable  yielding  up  of  treasured  works  to 
the  public  demand  was  shown  by  the  museums  of  Havre, 
Nantes,  Toulouse,  and  other  places,  in  sending  forward  the 
canvases  of  M.  J.  P.  Laurens,  dealing  with  periods  in  history, 
and  with  phases  of  those  periods,  not  often  attempted  by 
other  artists.  In  ordinary  hands,  such  subjects  as  the  “  Ex¬ 
humation  of  Pope  Formosus,”  and  “  Francis  Borgia  before  the 
Coffin  of  Isabella  of  Portugal,’’  and  “  The  Interdict,”  would 
be  simply  horrible  if  they  did  not  fall  into  the  lower  reputa- 


FRENCH  ART  EXHIBIT. 


321 


tion  of  being  simply  disgusting;  but  it  is  truth  to  say  that  M. 
Laurens  seems  literally  opening  a  path  in  the  broad  field  of 
genius,  into  which  many  must  follow — and  that  his  “  Death 
of  Marceau  ”  and  “  Execution  of  the  Due  d’Enghien  ”  ap¬ 
pealed  to  the  most  cultivated  tastes  as  well  as  the  most  sym¬ 
pathetic,  by  an  absolute  propriety  combined  with  undeniable 
power. 

Much  more  of  the  intrinsically  terrible  was  shown  by  M. 
Sylvestre  in  “  Locusta  and  Nero  Trying  a  Poison,”  in  which 
the  obvious  force  was  so  subordinated  to  the  moral  feeling  as 
to  make  the  picture  simply  repulsive  ;  and  it  was  well  that 
this  disgust  should  be  neutralized,  as  it  was,  by  M.  Dupain,  in 
his  “  Good  Samaritan.”  No  little  of  the  horrible,  however, 
was  revived,  in  the  two  immense  works,  the  “  Reform  of  the 
Madhouse  in  1795,”  and  the  “  Sack  of  Corinth,”  in  both  of 
which  it  goes  without  saying  that  the  faculties  of  pity  were  so 
strained  that  admiration  for  the  works  was  partially  par¬ 
alyzed.  Benjamin  Constant’s  “  Entry  of  Mohammed  II.  into 
Constantinople  ”  again  lifted  the  observer  into  a  purer  air, 
well  justifying  the  prize  won  by  it  at  the  last  Salon. 

Perhaps  too  much  time  has  elapsed  before  speaking  of  M. 
Meissonier,  so  thoroughly  a  favorite  with  Americans.  He  was 
somewhat  liberally  represented,  the  most  important  of  his  pic¬ 
tures  being  a  “  Portrait  of  M.  Alexandre  Dumas,”  full  of  char¬ 
acter  and  which  (we  believe)  has  already  been  engraved ; 
“Cuirassiers  of  1805,”  with  his  elaborate  finish  giving  the 
peculiarities  of  costume  as  would  else  have  been  impossible ; 
“  Moreau  and  Dessoles  before  Ilohenlinden,”  in  which  the  for¬ 
mer  was  absolutely  apotheosized ;  “A  Sergeant,”  “  Petite 
Poste,”  and  “  Vidette,”  in  all  of  which  observation  of  real  life 
on  the  battlefield  seems  to  have  been  indispensable;  and 
“  Dictating  His  Memoirs,”  in  which  the  sadness  of  great  fame, 
combined  with  inordinate  personal  vanity,  has  an  exemplifica¬ 
tion  not  easily  to  be  forgotten. 

M.  Bougereau  displayed  a  somewhat  singular  blending  of  his 
powers,  in  the  “  Virgin,  Child  Jesus  and  St.  John,”  full  of  his 
elaboration,  but  reverent  enough  in  management  to  have 


322 


PARIS  IX  78. 


originated  three  hundred  years  ago  ;  the  “Virgin  Consolatress,” 
perhaps  one  of  the  sweetest  Madonna  faces  of  the  past  two 
centuries,  alive  with  love  and  pity  ;  the  “  Youth  of  Love,”  riant 
with  the  modern  and  almost  the  sensuous;  “  Charity,”  again 
on  the  higher  and  holier  plane  of  his  dual  genius;  “Piety,” 
displaying  many  of  the  same  characteristics;  the  “  Meeting  of 
Nymphs”  and  “  Flora  and  Zephyr”  back  again  to  the  earth 
very  materially,  &c.  Gerome  dealt  principally  with  Oriental 
subjects,  Turkish  baths,  Turkish  irregular  soldiery,  &c.,  scarce¬ 
ly  any  of  his  pieces  at  what  we  fancy  his  best,  though  one, 
with  a  trooper  watering  his  horse  at  a  fountain,  deer  hounds 
accompanying;  and  another,  of  women  bathing,  recalled  some 
of  his  most  matured  powers;  and  “His  Gray  Eminence” — 
Richelieu’s  Joseph  descending  a  stair,  reading  his  breviary  and 
paying  no  attention  to  the  crowd  of  obsequious  courtiers,  has 
won  many  admirers  if  not  all  the  critics.  Some  of  Gerome’s 
students,  by  the  way,  seem  to  have  taken  up  the  brush  oc¬ 
casionally  dropped,  as  Hector  Leroux,  in  “A  Miracle  in  the 
Temple  of  Vesta  ”  (thus  far  his  very  best  work),  and  a  “  Toilette 
of  Minerva  Polias  Gustave  Boulanger,  in  his  “  Roman  Baths,” 
“Roman  Comedians”  and  “Roman  Promenades;”  and  Le- 
compte  du  Nouy  in  his  “  Homer  Begging  ”  and  “  Pharaoh  Slay¬ 
ing  the  Bearers  of  Evil  Tidings” — all  pleasantly  characteristic, 
and  the  Homer  especially  forcible. 

M.  Gustave  Moreau  had  many  pictures  ;  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  in  some  of  them  he  rose  higher  than  at  any 
previous  exhibition,  especially  in  allegorical  tableaux,  evi¬ 
dencing  a  rare  blending  of  imagination  and  technical  abili¬ 
ty — almost  if  not  quite  justifying  the  critical  dictum  of  M.  Paul 
de  St.  Victor,  which  called  them,  what  much  of  the  best 
poetry  might  with  propriety  be  called,  taking  words  as  col¬ 
ors— “painted  dreams.”  The  most  ambitious  among  them  was 
“  Hercules  and  the  Lernian  Hydra,”  with  enough  of  force  to 
galvanize  half-dead  mythology  for  the  nineteenth  century, — 
followed  by  “Jacob  and  the  Angel,”  “Moses  Exposed  on  the 
Nile,”  “  Salome,”  “  David,"  &c.,  all  instinct  with  a  rare  scrip¬ 
tural  propriety.  M.  Vibert  had  three  very  creditable  pic- 


FRENCH  ART  EXHIBIT. 


323 


tures,  rich  in  color  and  admirable  in  drawing,  in  the  “  De¬ 
parture  of  the  Spanish  Bride  and  Bridegroom,”  the  “  Sere¬ 
nade,”  and  the  “Toilette  of  the  Madonna’’ — all  more  or  less 
suggestive  of  the  manner  of  Meissonier;  and  similarly  com¬ 
plimentary  mention  may  be  made  of  the  “Coup  de  Canon” 
of  M.  Berne  Bellecour,  and  the  “  Flower  Girl  ”  of  M.  Firmin- 
Girard. 

A  word  must  dismiss  the  matchless  “Wedding  Feast”  of 
Isabey,  once  more  met  here,  equally  as  a  surprise  and  a  relief. 
And  little  more  space  can  be  devoted  to  several  pieces  by 
Jules  le  Breton,  one  of  which,  “  The  Gleaner,”  was  one  of  the 
sweetest  of  his  Breton  studies  ;  while  another  showed  a  male 
peasant  of  that  province,  carrying  a  taper,  with  the  blended 
lights  admirably  managed  ;  and  a  third,  with  three  peasant 
girls,  their  arms  linked  over  each  other’s  shoulders,  wonder¬ 
fully  conveyed  the  impression  of  a  field  half  filled  with  pop¬ 
pies,  which  no  one  conversant  with  the  harvest  scenes  ol 
Brittany,  the  Pas  de  Calais,  or  Picardy,  can  fail  to  recognize 
lovingly.  M.  Comte-Calix  appeared  to  excellent  advantage 
in  his  “Adam  and  Eve  ”  ;  M.  Lefebvre,  in  “  The  Dream  ; M. 
Signol,  in  the  “Soldier  of  Marathon,”  and  scarcely  less  in  his 
excellent  characterizations  of  “Justice”  and  “Goodness”*; 
M.  Glaize,  in  “  The  Fugitives  M.  Delaunay  (though  in  both 
of  these  the  element  of  terror  was  too  prominent),  in  the 
“  Plague  at  Rome  ”  and  “  Death  of  Nessus  ”  ;  M.  Guillaumet, 
in  “An  Arab  Market  ”  (showing  the  very  closest  study  of 
people  and  customs) ;  and  M.  Hebert,  in  “  La  Pastorella,”  the 
“Popular  Italian  Muse,”  and  “A  Wood  Nymph.”  It  is  pain¬ 
ful  to  be  obliged  to  add  that  political  propriety  kept  away 
from  the  Exposition  some  of  the  wonderful  battle  pieces  of 
M.  Detaille,  which  had  place  in  a  picture-house  in  Paris,  but 
missed  their  great  opportunity. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  in  the  misunderstood  and 
only  halt-appreciated  department  of  object-painting  (improper¬ 
ly  called  “  still-life  ”)  there  were,  in  this  collection,  some  ad¬ 
mirable  examples.  As  of  right,  M.  Blaise-Desgoffes,  who  may 
be  said  to  stand  at  the  head  of  this  branch  of  art,  had  three 


22 


324 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


examples,  of  which  the  most  notable  was  “  A  Corner  of  the 
Cabinet  of  Louis  XVI.,”  with  the  royal  jewels,  their  boxes, 
missals,  &c.,  so  displayed  that  one  would  have  thought  twice 
before  giving  the  picture  for  the  originals.  Nearly  or  quite 
equal,  in  the  same  line,  were  some  of  the  pieces  of  M.  Vollon, 
displaying  goldsmiths’  work,  armor,  tapestries,  damascened 
weapons,  &c. ;  some  of  those  of  Philippe  Rousseau,  and  other 
young  masters  of  an  admirable  detail  which  seems  to  be  per¬ 
manently  reviving. 

No  previous  universal  exhibition  has  exhibited  so  many' por¬ 
traits  as  those  shown,  especially  and  almost  exclusively  in  the 
French  department.  A  few  of  the  more  prominent  have  been 
casually  mentioned,  in  connection  with  other  works  by  the 
same  artists — those  of“  Don  Carlos,”  “M.  Thiers,”  “  Fleury,” 
&c.,  by  Bonnat ;  “Alexandre  Dumas,”  by  Meissonier,  &c.  Per¬ 
haps  two  of  the  most  striking  in  the  whole  collection  were  by 
a  woman,  Mile.  Jacquemart,  of  whose  portrait  of  President 
Thiers,  Victor  Cherbuliez  said  that :  “  The  house  is  inhabited  ; 
some  one  is  looking  out  of  the  window.”  Her  portraits,  in  this 
instance,  were  those  of  “Marshal  Canrobert,”  “M.  Duruy” 
and  M.  Dufaure” — all  singularly  strong,  virile,  and  impressed 
with  the  very  truth  of  life — and  of  “  Mdlle.  G.  B.,”  pleasing  but 
inferior  to  both  the  others.  M.  Iluas  had  a  portrait  of  Doctor 
Ricord,  worthy  the  fame  of  the  great  alleviator  of  suffering. 
M.  Cabanel  exhibited  several,  the  most  notable  among  them 
those  of  Madame  de  Lavalette,  the  Duchess  de  Luynes,  and 
the  Countess  of  Mercy-Argenteau— Madame  de  Luynes  sur¬ 
rounded  by  her  children,  and  thus  softenedfrom  the  Cabanelian 
chilliness  shown  by  the  others.  M.  Dubufe  had  also  several, 
with  more  than  the  average  celebrity  in  subjects,  including 
“  M.  Gounod”  (the  composer),  “  M.  Alexandre  Dumas,  Jr.,” 
“M.  Philippe  Rousseau,”  and  “  M.  Emile  Augier ;”  and  M. 
Carolus  Duran  blended  literature  and  art  very  effectively,  in 
“  M.  Emile  de  Girardin  ”  and  “  M.  Gustave  Dore.” 

«,  The  French  sculptures,  one  of  the  most  extended  collections 
in  the  Main  Palace,  after  all  contributed  to  and  at  the  Troca- 
dero,  must  be  very  briefly  dismissed.  No  less  than  three  cf 


FRENCH  ART  EXHIBIT 


325 


the  first  halls  of  the  Beaux  Arts,  entered  from  the  Vestibule  of 
Honor,  were  filled  with  the  works  of  French  statuaries,  exe¬ 
cuted  since  1867.  Several  of  those  works,  of  importance,  were 
grouped  near  the  principal  entrance  :  “  Lamartine,”  in  bronze, 
by  Falguiere;  “Brennis,”  in  marble,  by  Taluet ;  “The  Invoca¬ 
tion  to  Minerva,”  in  gray  marble,  by  Millet ;  “The  Pythoness,” 
in  veined  marble,  by  Bourgeois  ;  an  “Antique  Dancing  Faun,” 
by  Blanchard,  which  held  place  in  the  Salon  of  1876;  and  a 
group  of  “  Ferocious  Animals,”  by  Cain.  Facing  the  door, 
with  splendid  appropriateness  to  the  occasion,  stood  a  statue  of 
“Marshal-President  MacMahon,”  with  busts  of  “M.Teisserenac 
de  Bort  ”  and  “M.  Krantz  ”  on  either  side  of  it.  Of  several  other 
figures,  near,  one  was  that  of  “Jean  d’Arc,”  by  Chapu,  the 
status  of  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  affected  by  the  fact 
that  during  the  summer  a  visitor,  questioned  of  the  identity 
of  this  statue  by  his  wife,  pronounced  it  the  “Woman 
Taken  in  Adultery  1” 

Busts  of  Ingres,  Frederic  Lemaitre,  Champfleury  and  Gen¬ 
eral  Wimpffen  followed,  most  of  them  in  that  terra-cotta  which 
seems  destined  to  play  so  grand  a  part  in  the  art  of  the  future  ; 
then  an  embodiment  of  “The  Actor,”  by  Lormier  ;  and  two 
effective  statues,  by  Marcilly — a  “Piping  Bacchante”  and  a 
“Young  Girl  at  the  Spring,”  both  redolent  of  the  very  spirit 
of  youth  and  gayety.  MM.  Cordier,  Ponis  and  Legest  followed, 
in  an  “Egyptian  Harp-Girl,”  in  enamel,  with  a  face  of  silver, 
actually  seeming  to  ray  light  from  the  threefold  union  of  in¬ 
tellects,  in  modelling,  sculpture,  and  enamelling.  The  sad 
“Piety”  ofM.  Sanson,  a  very  effective  work,  was  somewhat 
disfigured  by  one  of  those  tricks  of  color  sometimes  indulged 
in  by  marble,  and  which  might  have  furnished  Charles  Lamb 
with  one  more  illustration  of  the  “Depravity  of  Inanimate 
Matter”  (as  he  might  have  found  another,  by  the  way,  in  the 
ink-staining  of  the  fine  group  in  the  fror.t  of  the  Equitable  Build¬ 
ing,  on  Broadway,  New  York).  A  much  more  ambitious  sub¬ 
ject  was  that  of  M.  Chatrousse,  the  “Crimes  of  War,”  a  group 
of  a  dying  child,  a  bound  prisoner,  and  a  broken-hearted 
woman,  touching  the  very  fount  of  sympathetic  pity. 


326 


PARIS  IN  78. 


In  the  third  hall  (necessarily  passing  many  minor  objects) 
was  to  be  found  the  true  “Woman  Taken  in  Adultery,”  for 
whom  poor  “Jean  d’Arc”  was  lately  mistaken.  It  was  by  M. 
Cambos,  and  had  a  melancholy  truth  of  conception  worthy  of 
an  earnest  worker.  This  was  followed  by  “  Young  Curiosity  ” 
tearing  away  a  mask,  from  the  gardens  of  the  Luxembourg,  and 
bearing  the  name  of  M.  Blanchard,  with  the  date  of  1 87  r .  A 
fine  bust  of  George  Sand,  by  Millet,  necessarily  excited  general 
interest,  alike  from  the  subject  and  the  excellence  of  the  re¬ 
production  ;  and  the  last  work  of  Perraud  was  near  it,  with  the 
sad  title,  so  doubly  appropriate,  “The  Adieux.”  The  sadness 
of  the  last  works  named  was  redoubled  here  by  the  “Head  of 
Andre  Chenier,”  the  poet  and  victim  of  the  Revolution,  by 
Noel,  and  standing  on  the  awfully  appropriate  “  block  ” — one 
of  the  purest,  saddest,  sweetest  faces  jn  memory. 

Schoenewerk’s  “Shipwrecked  Female”  follows,  sadly  sug¬ 
gestive  ;  and  Delaplanche’s  “  Eve,”  of  which  the  only  fault 
seems  to  be  its  almost  unearthly  beauty  of  face,  with  too  little 
of  the  sorrow  of  the  Fall.  “  Unquiet  Happiness,”  by  Madame 
Leon  Bertaux,  next  caught  the  eye,  with  more  than  a  sugges¬ 
tion  of  Ondine  ;  and  “  The  Love-Bearer,”  by  M.Gandoz,  in  close 
connection  with  it.  This  hurried  glance  at  only  a  moiety  of 
the  French  sculptures  must  close  with  the  “Romeo  and 
Juliet,”  of  whom  the  sculptor  has  been  forgotten;  and  the 
“Narcissus  ”  of  M.  Iliolle,  and  the  “  Bacchante  ”  of  M.  Marcel- 
li n — the  latter  taking  her  triumphant  but  slightly  perilous  ride 
on  a  panther. 


IXIXlZKI'YriII. 

ART  OF  THE  NATIONS,  GENERALLY. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  by  far  the  largest  exhibitor, 
after  France,  was  Great  Britain  ;  and  that  statement  holds 
good  quite  as  well  in  the  art-world  as  elsewhere.  The  Eng¬ 
lish  collection  is  accordingly  entitled  to  head  the  list,  in  a 
hurried  examination  of  the  art-works  of  all  the  European 
nations,  collectively. 

And,  “  first  among  the  first.”  To  this  place  is  undoubtedly 
entitled  Frederick  Leighton,  whose  “Elias  in  the  Desert” 
was  one  of  the  most  purely  religious  pictures  of  the  century, 
full  of  grace  and  strength,  with  the  solidity  of  the  human  flesh 
of  the  prophet,  and  the  aeriality  of  the  angel  bringing  him  food> 
as  strongly  marked  in  contrast  as  could  have  been  done  in  two 
differing  compositions.  This  picture  would  undoubtedly  have 
taken  the  grand  prize  but  for  the  retiracy  of  the  new  President 
of  the  Royal  Academy  from  competition,  owing  to  certain 
scruples,  doing  more  credit  to  his  independence  than  hisjudg- 
ment.  (With  this  retiracy,  the  grand  prize  went  to  Herkomer 
for  his  “Last  Parade,”  a  gathering  of  veterans  at  Chelsea  Hospi¬ 
tal,  with  one  sitting  erect  while  dying,  and  the  ranks  of  the  old 
soldiers  in  their  pews  admirably  painted  in  varying  reds.  In 
fact,  in  one  of  the  critiques  it  was  called  a  “  symphony  in  red.”) 
Mr.  Leighton  had  also  the  “  Music  Lesson,”  painted  as  deli¬ 
cately  and  airily  as  his  portrait  of  “Captain  Burton”  (the 
explorer)  was  broad,  firm  and  massive. 

Alma-Tadema,  a  Hollander  by  birth,  but  English  by  adoption 
and  exhibition,  had  no  less  than  ten  pictures,  most  or  all  of 
them  on  Roman  subjects,  and  two,  very  large,  painted 
especially  for  the  Exposition — the  “  Picture  Gallery”  and  the 
“  Sculpture  Gallery,”  the  latter  notably  in  warm  tones,  and  the 
former  in  gray  and  cold  ones.  In  both  these  pictures,  as  in¬ 
deed  in  all  the  others,  the  marvellous  finish  of  this  artist  was 


328 


PAMIS  IJST  78. 


discernible  ;  while  it  was  worthy  of  notice  that  in  all  of  them, 
also,  he  showed  as  little  flesh  as  possible  (though  that  very 
finely  painted),  and  depended  most  on  the  elaboration  of  robes 
and  accessories.  John  Pettie  had  also  seven  pictures,  of  which 
the  one  attracting  most  attention  was  a  boldly-painted 
“Conditions  of  Surrender,’’  with  a  reckless  knight  conveying 
those  conditions  to  the  Council,  who  listen  incredulously,  but 
with  a  variety  of  expressions  in  their  faces.  His  second  best 
was  “  High  Treason,”  a  more  strictly  historic  painting;  and 
both  of  his  portraits,  especially  that  of  “  Bishop  Ullathorne,” 
were  clear,  forcible,  and  human.  William  Orchardson  showed 
some  good  pictures,  notably  the  “Queen  of  Swords”  (the 
allusion  may  be  easily  understood)  and  “The  Antechamber,” 
both  displaying  care  in  costume  and  clear  development  of 
individual  character. 

Sir  John  Gilbert’s  “  Cardinal  Wolsey  at  Leicester  Abbey” 
was,  perhaps,  after  the  “Elias,”  or  competing  with  it,  the 
noblest  picture  in  the  English  section,  showing  the  hunted 
and  broken  Cardinal  escaping,  like  a  hare  from  the  hounds, 
to  a  place  to  die.  And  much  of  the  same  feeling,  noble  if  a 
trifle  theatrical,  was  shown  in  his  “  Richard  II.  and  Boling- 
broke.”  It  almost  goes  without  saying  that  Frith’s  “  Derby 
Day”  and  “Railway  Station”  filled  their  accustomed  place, 
and  elicited  conflicting  opinions  that  they  were  not  true  paint¬ 
ings  (as  they  were  not),  and  that  they  were  wonderful  photo¬ 
graphs  without  the  lens  (as  they  were,  and  as  most  of  Hogarth’s 
pictures  were).  But  this  artist  gave  us,  also,  the  “Hall  of 
Play  at  Hombourg,’’  a  striking  reminiscence  of  splendid  vice 
not  long  departed  ;  and  “  Charles  II.  at  Whitehall,”  in  which 
more  absolute  power  was  displayed  than  in  any  previous  pro¬ 
duction  of  Mr.  Frith.  Mr.  Luke  Fildes,  so  well  remembered  by 
many  for  his  collaboration  with  Dickens,  showed  his  painfully- 
grand  picture  of  the  “London  Poor  Waiting  the  Opening  of 
the  Night  Asylum  ”  (better  known  as  the  “Casual  Ward  "),  in 
which  perhaps  as  much  of  sorrow  and  misery  could  be  learned 
as  from  any  other  canvas  of  the  same  size  on  the  globe  ;  and 
something  like  the  opposite  pole  (England's  misery  ;  England’s 


ART  OF  THE  NA  TIONS. 


32S 


glory)  was  found  in  Sir  Francis  Grant's  rich  and  elaborate 
battle  piece,  forcible  in  color  and  correct  in  drawing,  the 
“  Duke  of  Cambridge  at  the  Battle  of  the  Alma.” 

A  strong  rival  to  the  best  of  English  historical  painters  made 
himself  evident  to  many  who  had  not  before  known  much  of 
him,  in  Poynter,  whose  “Catapult”  (at  the  siege  of  Carthage) 
showed  the  hand  of  a  master,  both  in  correct  drawing  and  rich, 
transparent  color;  while  his  “Israel  in  Eg}rpt  ”  would  have 
been  even  better  but  for  the  fact  that  the  laboriously-painted 
architecture  overshadowed  the  figures  of  the  toilers,  however 
equally  well  conceived  and  elaborated.  Briton  Riviere  had  a 
“Daniel  in  the  Lion’s  Den,”  of  which  the  drawing  was  abso¬ 
lutely  powerful,  and  the  whole  fearful  theme  brilliantly  ren¬ 
dered.  Calderon’s  “Last  Touch,”  a  fancy  of  the  reign  of 
Pompadour,  displayed  close  study  and  marvellous  skill  in 
technique.  Leslie’s  “  Visit  to  the  Pensioners,”  showing  a  great 
lady  coming  to  see  her  proteges,  and  surrounded  by  them,  was 
in  the  highest  degree  pleasing,  natural  (especially  in  the  faces 
eagerly  regarding  her  satchel),  and  the  very  reverse  of  theatri¬ 
cal.  England  would  necessarily  have  been  deprived  of  some- 
hing  of  the  glory  properly  belonging  to  her,  without  Sir  Edwin 
Landseer’s  “  Swans  Attacked  by  Eagles,”  containing  some  of 
his  very  best  study  of  motion  in  animal  nature;  and  his 
“  Connoiseurs  ”  (belonging  to  the  Prince  of  Wales),  in  which 
the  great  painter  was  shown,  crayon  in  hand,  in  the  midst  of  a 
veritable  Noah’s  Ark  of  all  the  creatures  of  the  earth,  working, 
with  two  grand  dogs  playing  the  part  of  critics,  and  apparently 
approving  the  progress  made.  The  best  work  of  Millais,  on 
exhibition,  was  his  “Northwest  Passage,”  in  which  an  old 
pilot,  with  a  grand  head,  amid  accessories  not  too  carefully 
painted,  was  pointing  out  the  route  of  the  lost  navigator.  The 
next  best  of  his  pictures  were  the  “  Royal  Guard”  and  “Chill 
October.”  Watts  had  several  portraits,  among  them  “  Lord 
Lawrence,”  “Calderon,”  “Duke  of  Cleveland,”  and  “Robert 
Browning” — all  forcible  as  portraits,  but  all  with  a  sensation 
of  unpleasing  and  unstable  color. 


330 


PARIS  IN  78. 


Orchardson  had  a  picture  of  much  force,  “  Borrowinga  Mort¬ 
gage,’'  but  with  the  fault  of  the  borrower’s  face  seeming  keener 
than  that  of  the  lending  miser.  Morgan  exhibited  “  The  Hay¬ 
makers,  ’*  with  the  subdued  light  of  approaching  twi  light, 
but  the  trees  noble  and  the  composition  a  pleasing  one.  It 
can  only  be  said,  in  addition,  that  Crofts  had  an  “  Eve  of 
Waterloo,”  displaying  not  a  little  of  the  force  of  Horace  Ver- 
net  ;  and  that  Burne-Jones,  Albert  Moore,  Boughton,  Sandys, 
Davis,  Marks  and  others  had  more  or  less  creditable  pictures, 
some  of  them  no  doubt  deserving  quite  as  much  hasty  honor 
as  has  been  paid  to  those  preceding. 

The  collection  of  English  sculpture  was  somewhat  extensive, 
though  in  excellence  not  comparable  with  the  French.  The 
first  among  the  works  in  positive  merit  was  unquestionably 
that  of  the  painter.  Leighton,  already  spoken  of — a  group  in 
bronze  of  “  Hercules  and  the  Python,”  showing  his  really 
wonderful  knowledge  of  anatomy.  “Marie  Antoinette,”  in 
silver  bronze,  by  Gower,  had  possibly  too  much  of  hauteur 
evident  in  her  fire,  but  showed  much  of  the  woman  as  we 
understand  her.  There  were,  also,  a  fine  bronze  of  “  Thomas 
Carlyle’;  a  bust  of  the  “Princess  of  Wales,”  by  D’Epinay ; 
one  of  “  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria,”  by  Brodie  ;  one  of  “  Sir 
Francis  Grant,”  by  Miss  Grant ;  one  of  “  Lady  Campbell,”  by 
Acton  ;  and  several  others,  minor  for  this  occasion,  and  which 
must  be  passed  without  mention. 

In  recognition  of  the  German  pictures  in  the  Exposition 
being  actually  contributed  through  the  personal  means  of  good 
old  Emperor  William,  whose  foresight  of  the  future  seems  to 
excel  that  of  all  the  so-called  statesmen  surrounding  him,  it  is 
only  proper  that  this  department  should  have  brief  notice,  in 
advance  of  all  other  countries  succeeding.  Perhaps  the  most 
notable  specimens  in  the  German  collection  were  the  eight 
pictures  of  Louis  Knaus,  bearing  dates  from  1869  to  1873,  with 
two  entirely  new,  even  if  not  prepared  for  this  occasion.  Among 
the  best  of  them,  and  very  full  of  character,  was  the  “Old 
Clothesdealer,”  who,  with  pipe  in  mouth,  gossiped  with  a 
little  gamin,  both  the  faces  veritably  speaking,  as  well  as  the 


ART  OF  TIIE  NATIONS- 


331 


mouths  intended  for  that  office.  “A  Good  Bargain,”  with  the 
little  rabbit-skin  merchant  full  of  gayety  over  his  successes,  was 
also  excellent ;  and  even  more  may  be  said  of  the  “  Children’s 
Fete,”  full  of  charming  insouciance  and  bonhommie.  Many  of 
Knaus’  pictures  have  been  engraved  for  America,  and  his 
charm  will  therefore  be  fully  understood  by  non-visitors. 
“The  Furnace,”  by  Menzel,  held  something  of  the  same  posi¬ 
tion,  this  year,  held  in  the  Exposition  of  1867  by  Weir’s  “Gun 
Foundry,”  it  having  a  massiveness  of  detail,  with  a  skill  in  the 
management  of  lights,  entitling  it  to  be  remembered  beside 
that  admirable  picture.  Holding  a  place  entirely  of  its  own, 
was  the  “  Baptism  After  the  Death  of  the  Father,”  by  Hoff, 
who  may  be  called  the  head  of  the  German  realistic  school, 
and  a  comparison  of  whose  work  with  that  of  some  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  realists  will  be  an  instructive  lesson  of  the  modes  of  two 
nations.  It  was  a  strong  and  impressive  picture,  with  grief 
seeming  to  be  made  an  absolute  reality  and  emotion  inevitable. 
There  were  pictures  by  both  Andreas  and  Oswald  Achenbach 
— pleasing  as  always,  but  without  sufficient  departure  from  the 
well-known  powers  of  those  acknowledged  masters  to  demand 
any  special  mention.  Joseph  Brandt  displayed,  in  the  “Cos¬ 
sacks  of  the  Ukraine,”  admirable  drawing  and  fine  manage¬ 
ment  of  color.  Gabriel  Max,  in  “  Jairus’  Daughter,”  exhibited 
a  most  remarkable  picture — in  a  cavern,  sombre  to  a  degree, 
and  yet  impressed  with  the  wierd  and  wonderful  power  of  the 
painter  of  the  “Last  Token.”  Piloty,  in  “Wallenstein  Sur¬ 
rendering  to  Eger,”  showed  some  of  his  careful  elaboration, 
on  a  subject  too  broad  for  that  treatment. 

There  were,  also,  a  portrait  of  a  “  Young  Woman,”  by  Kaul- 
bach  ;  a  portrait  of  “  Baron  Liphart,”  by  Lenbach  ;  “  Caffres,” 
by  Meyerheim  ;  the  “  Pursuit  of  Fortune,”  by  Henneberg  ;  and 
“Autumn  Evening  on  the  Isar,”  by  Lier.  The  most  important 
of  the  German  sculptures,  all  in  marble,  were  the  “Rape  of 
the  Sabines  ”  and  “  Mercury  and  Psyche,”  both  by  R.  Begas  ; 
a  “  Satyr  and  Bacchus,”  by  C.  Begas  ;  a  “  Satyr  and  Cupid,”  by 
Harter;  and  “Adam,”  by  Hildebrand.  It  may  be  said,  in  fine, 
of  the  German  collection,  that  the  Emperor,  in  sending  it  for- 


332 


PARIS  IN  78. 


ward,  “deserved  well”  (to  use  a  phrase  of  the  Directory)  of 
both  the  countries  contributing  and  receiving. 

Perhaps  the  most  notable  picture  in  the  Belgian  collection, 
though  by  no  means  the  most  pleasing  one,  was  “The  Pope 
and  the  Emperor  of  Germany  at  Canossa,  in  1077,”  by  Cluy- 
senaar,  a  very  large  composition,  effective,  though  cold,  and 
well  characterizing  the  humbled  imperious  Henry  IV,  and  the 
yet  more  imperious  Hildebrand,  the  reverse  of  humble,  as  Pope 
Gregory  VII.  A  picture  of  some  force  and  much  interest  was 
Wauters’  “  Mary  of  Burgundy  Taking  the  Oath  to  the  Com¬ 
mons  at  Brussels,  1477.”  Perhaps  its  charm  was  not  a  little 
added  to  by  the  romance  attached  to  the  woman  who  made  a 
love-match  with  the  disguised  Emperor  Sigismund,  and  was 
killed  in  the  early  days  of  her  married  life  and  love.  Wauters 
had  another  charming  picture,  “  Portrait  of  a  Child,”  eliciting 
much  admiration.  J.  Stevens  had  a  highly  enjoyable  picture, 
“  Dog  and  Cat,’’  a  dog  at  the  mirror,  and  the  whole  riant  with 
animal  life  well  observed.  A.  Stevens  and  Willems  repeated, 
in  paintings  of  costumes,  some  of  their  triumphs  of  1867.  Clays 
showed  some  marine  paintings,  in  his  best  laborious  style,  of 
the  “  Basin  ”  and  “Roads,”  at  “Antwerp,”  “The  Thames,  at 
London,”  &c.  A,  De  Vrient  would  have  made  a  capital  picture 
of  “  Charles  V.  at  Yuste,”  but  for  an  attempt  to  make  the  face 
of  that  unamiable  monarch,  amiable,  which  shocked  the  sense 
of  history.  Weber  had  a  noble  “  Entrance  of  the  Port  of  Fe¬ 
camp,  Normandy.”  Verlat  (we  have  lost  the  title)  displayed 
some  excellent  contrasts  in  grouping  and  color,  in  a  picture  of 
tourists  and  their  carriers  at  Jerusalem,  the  atmospheric  effects 
notably  fine.  Verhas’  “  Inundation  ”  was  very  carefully  painted. 
Van  Den  Bosch’s  “  Cats’ Amusement  ”  was  spirited  and  well 
drawn.  Of  a  very  vigorous  Biblical  scene,  “  Give  us  Barabbas  !’’ 
we  have  this  time  lost  the  name  of  the  painter.  Was  it  Verlat? 
Probably.  There  were  many  other  good  pictures  in  the 
Belgian  collection, with  the  names  of  Stallaert,  Bossuet,  Bource, 
Tscharner,  Van  Luppen  and  others. 

The  first  honors  of  the  fine  collection  of  Austria-Hungary 
were  held  by  Hans  Makart’s  very  large  picture,  the  “  Entref 


ART  OF  THE  NATIONS. 


333 


Of  Charles  V.  into  Antwerp.”  This  picture  was  called  by  many 
the  very  best  in  the  whole  exhibition,  in  richness  of  color, 
careful  drawing,  and  the  utmost  attention  to  costuming,  while 
opportunity  for  elaborate  painting  was  not  lost  on  the  damas¬ 
cened  armor  of  the  young  emperor,  and  on  the  virtually  nude 
girls  who  formed  part  of  the  escort  in  the  bewilderingly  elabo¬ 
rate  triumphal  procession.  Equally  pronounced  in  color,  and 
scarcely  inferior  in  drawing,  was  Matejko’s  “  Union  of  Poland 
and  Lithuania,”  with  the  Grand  Duke  Jagellon  taking  the  oath 
and  the  great  Polish  nobles  receiving  it.  Munkacsy's  “  Blind 
Milton  Dictating  the  Paradise  Lost  ”  was  in  all  regards  a  noble 
picture,  though  by  no  means  comparable,  in  the  elements  of 
popularity,  with  his  “Last  Day  of  the  Condemned,”  of  which 
the  face  of  the  doomed  man,  in  set  despair,  with  his  weeping 
wife  at  the  wall,  his  wondering  children  and  sympathizing 
peasant  friends,  will  haunt  many  a  spectator  for  a  long  period. 
Muller’s  “  St.  Marc, Venice,”  had  some  fine  atmospheric  effects  ; 
Gabriel  Max  exhibited  the  least  pleasing  of  the  two  “  Last 
Tokens,”  with  which  his  name  is  indissolubly  connected  ; 
L'Allemand  showed  a  noble  equestrian  portrait  of  “  Marshal 
Laudon,”  of  1759;  D’Angeli  had  nearly  a  dozen  exquisite  por¬ 
traits,  and  Canon,  of  Vienna,  a  fine  portrait  of  “Comtesse 
Schonborn,”  and  another  equally  pleasing.  “A  Holland 
Landscape”  was  the  best  work  of  that  class,  by  Jettel  ;  and 
there  was  other  good  work  by  Schindler,  Blan,  Ditscheiner, 
Ribarz,  Russ,  &c. 

Spain  had  a  wealth  of  Fortunys,  most  of  them  badly  hung, 
but  nearly  all  in  his  best  style — among  them  the  most  notable, 
his  “  Repetition  of  the  Comedy,”  “  Posada,”  *“  Snake 
Charmers,”  “Arab  Fountain,”  “  German  Soldier,”  &c.  Zama- 
cois  had  three  very  pleasing  pictures,  in  the  “Madman,”  the 
“Monk,”  and  the  “Chess  Players.  Pradilla’s  “Jeanne  the 
Crazy,”  and  Ferrant’s  “  Early  Christian  Burial,”  were  both 
solidly  painted  and  forcible.  Plasencia’s  “  Death  of  Lucreze  ” 
was  perhaps  the  strongest  picture  in  the  Spanish  collection  ; 
Sala’s  “  Guillen  de  Vmatea  ”  was  a  bold  historical  sketch  ;  and 


334 


PARIS  IN  78. 


it  may  be  said  that  some  of  Madrazzo’s  portraits  were  among 
the  most  graceful  in  the  whole  exhibition. 

In  the  collection  of  Holland,  perhaps  the  most  impressive 
picture,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  freely  painted,  was  the 
“  Village  Poor  ”  of  Israels,  who  seems  to  blend  a  little  Wilkie 
of  the  past  and  Fildes  of  the  present ;  his  “  Workmen’s  Soup,” 
his  “Alone  in  the  World,”  and  his  “  Interment  ” — all  these  were 
elaborated  as  well  as  well  studied.  Bisschop  had  an  excellent 
“Portrait  of  a  Lady,”  in  what  might  be  called  “undress  cos¬ 
tume  ”  (juponais )  ;  Haanen  some  excellent  studies  made  on 
the  Adriatic,  among  them  a  “  Venetian  Workmen’s  Interior” 
and  the  “Pearl  Threaders  of  Muiano”;  Mesdag,  some  noble 
marine  pieces,  among  them  the  “Wreckers’  Boat  at  Schevin- 
ingen  ”  and  “  Lifting  the  Anchor  Gabriel,  a  breezy  “  Morning 
in  the  Polders  of  Holland  ”  and  “  Time  of  Gales  ”  ;  Sadee, 
the  “Return  from  Market”;  Miss  Henriette  Ronner,  “The 
Cat,”  &c. 

The  collections  of  Portugal  and  Greece  occupied  the  same 
saloon.  In  the  Portuguese  division,  really  but  one  work 
especially  enchained  the  attention:  the  “Washerwomen  of 
Lupi,”  a  bit  of  excellent  study  and  quiet  color.  In  the  Greek, 
the  most  important  work,  with  very  fine  management  of  lights, 
was  the  “Burning  of  an  Ottoman  Frigate,”  by  Altamura; 
Lytras  had  two  pleasant  pictures  in  “  The  Kiss  ”  and  the  “  New 
Year  Veil”;  and  Rallis  three  of  characters  as  different  as 
possible — “A  Soubrette  under  Louis  XIV.,”  “  Slave  Playing 
the  Guitar,”  and  “After  the  Burial.” 

The  Swiss  department  was  not  very  extensive,  and,  while 
creditable,  it  showed  little  mark  of  there  being  any  national 
school.  The  most  important  historical  work  was  the  “  Day  of 
Sempach,”  by  Conrad  Grob,  full  of  spirit  but  lacking  finish; 
and  the  “Birth  of  Venus,”  of  M.  Zuber-Buhler,  had  great 
delicacy  without  marked  force.  Among  the  best  of  the  other 
pictures  was  the  “Storm  in  the  High  Alps,”  by  Roller,  full  of 
the  feeling  of  uneasy  nature;  the  “  Zephyrs  of  Evening,”  by 
M.  Robert,  was  pleasing  and  poetic  ;  some  excellent  coloring 
and  close  observation  of  nature  was  shown  in  “A  Village 


ART  OF  THE  NATIONS. 


335 


Wedding  ”  (H igh  Savoy)  by  Costres  ;  Carl  Bodmer’s  “  Fleshing 
the  Hounds”  had  his  habitual  strength  and  directness;  Bur- 
nand’s  “  Village  Bakery  ”  had  much  strength  as  a  composition  ; 
and  there  were  other  fair  pictures,  if  no  strikingly  good  ones, 
in  the  “Roman  Campagna,”  by  Emile  David;  “Gendarmes 
Making  an  Arrest,”  by  Durand  ;  “A  Blue  Glacier,”  by  Luppe, 
&c. 

Denmark  showed  several  pictures  by  Carl  Block,  the  most 
important  of  them  being  “  Christian  II.,  Captive,”  and  several 
pleasant  interiors  following:  “Fishermen  near  Skagen,”  by 
Neumann,  with  excellent  costuming  and  massive  color;  a 
“  Swiss  Guard,”  by  Lund,  important  enough  in  characterization 
for  a  general ;  some  good  small  pictures  by  Wicksi,  Daagard, 
Rolle,  Kyhn,  &c. 

The  Swedish  and  Norwegian  exhibit  was  thrown  into  close 
juxtaposition  with  that  of  the  United  States,  by  occupying 
part  of  the  same  halls.  There  was  a  “  Fantasy  of  Norwegian 
Mythology,”  by  Arbo,  commanding  attention  equally  by  its 
crudities  and  its  undeniable  beauties  ;  a  “  Terrestrial  Paradise,” 
by  Borg,  showed  the  Northern  conception  of  “  Adam  and  Eve  ” 
very  pleasingly  and  very  blondely ;  there  were  some  cold  but 
effective  coast  and  other  subjects  by  Hagborg,  Zetterstein, 
Ross,  &c.  But  all  the  other  works  of  this  collection  were 
necessarily  thrown  into  the  background  by  one  picture  of  great 
strength  and  most  severe  simplicity,  by  CEderstrom — the 
“  Dead  Charles  XII.  borne  by  his  soldiers  before  Frederics- 
hall.”  The  bronzed  and  broken  veterans,  tramping  in  the 
snow  around  a  rocky  pass,  with  the  dead  hero-king  on  their 
shoulders,  and  their  faces  an  awful  woe  of  hopelessness, — this 
made  up  really  one  of  the  grandest  historical  pictures  in  the 
whole  Exposition,  and  one  of  the  most  enduringly  memorable. 

Russia  did  not  make  any  display  approaching  to  that  of 
1867.  One  of  the  largest  of  her  pictures  was  the  “  Living 
Torches  of  Nero,”  by  Siemiradski,  and  with  a  certain  weird 
power;  Makouski  had  a  “Procession  at  Cairo”  and  a 
“Bulgarian  Martyr,”  with  his  admitted  religious  delicacy, 
Jacobi  supplied  a  very  curious  “  Wedding  in  the  Glass  Palace  ;” 


336 


PARIS  IN  78. 


Jouravlief  showed  to  advantage  in  the  “  Funeral  Banquet  ’’  (so 
suggestive  of  the  Northland  and  of  Hamlet’s  “  funeral  baked 
meats”)  ;  there  were  sortie  remarkable,  but  no  doubt  faithful, 
landscapes  by  Aivazowski  ;  “  The  Fisherman,”  by  Perof ;  and 
some  thrilling  pictures,  the  reverse  of  pleasant,  outlining  the 
reign  of  Ivan  the  Terrible. 

The  Italian  department  followed  close  after  the  English  in 
quantity  ;  and  in  some  respects  it  may  be  said  that  it  approached 
it  in  interest.  The  painter  most  freely  represented  was 
De  Nittis,  whose  “Green  Park,’’  “Westminster,”  “Cannon 
Street  Bridge”  (all  of  London),  and  “Return  from  the  Boisde 
Boulogne  Races,”  had  something  of  the  photographic  close¬ 
ness  of  observation,  and  no  little  of  the  stiffness  of  Frith — 
excellent  and  effective  representations,  however.  “Italy  in 
1866,”  a  work  executed  by  Induno  for  Victor  Emmanuel,  showed 
much  of  the  power  of  that  painter,  so  successful  in  1867.  Both 
Didioni  and  Pagliano  exhibited  pictures  on  the  same  subject— 
the  “Divorce  of  Napoleon” — the  first  in  “  The  Divorce,”  and  the 
second  in  “Reasons  of  State” — that  of  Didioni,  the  smaller, 
touching  the  heart  the  more  nearly,  and  that  of  Pagliano 
displaying  wonderful  perfection  in  the  accessories  of  that 
historic  scene.  Pasini  had  no  less  than  ten  pictures,  princi¬ 
pally  Oriental  studies,  of  which  the  “Market  in  Turkey,” 
“  Promenade  of  the  Harem,”  “  Falcon  Chase,”  &c.,  reminded 
many  observers  that  there  was  no  Turkish  exhibit  in  the 
Exposition.  Deleani  (could  that  have  been  a  pseudonym  for 
Italo-Irish  Delany  ?)  showed  a  “  Regatta  on  the  Grand  Canal,” 
of  the  time,  and  with  something  of  the  coloring,  of  Paul 
Veronese.  Castiglione  had  two  pretty  pictures:  “  Haddon 
Hall  Taken  by  Cromwell’s  Soldiers”  and  “A  Visit  to  Uncle- 
Cardinal  ” ;  Mancini  displayed  two  pleasing  little  pieces  in  the 
“  Little  Tumbler  ’’  and  “  Bread  "  ;  Fiardi  a  companion-piece  in 
the  “  Little  Fisher,”  &c. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  the  Italian  sculptures  at  least 
divided  interest  with  the  pictures.  Perhaps  the  most  pleasing 
work  of  the  whole  was  the  recumbent  “Cleopatra”  of  Pasini, 
exquisitely  moulded  and  highly  ornamental  in  all  the  acces- 


ART  OF  THE  NATIONS. 


337 


soffes,  but  far  too  delicate  for  the  subject,  and  much  more 
possibly  conveying  a  Greek  nymph  than  the  impurely-passion- 
ate  Egyptian  Queen.  The  “Jenner  Vaccinating  his  Son,”  of 
Monteverde,  was  a  very  effective  group,  with  the  face  of  the 
physician-father  and  that  of  the  child  half-assured  and  half- 
frightened,  equally  effective  ;  but  the  subject  is  rather  repulsive 
than  the  reverse,  and  some  of  the  many  pictorial  representa¬ 
tions  already  made  might  have  been  spared.  The  sitting  statue 
of  “Cromwell,’’  by  Borghi,  in  bronzed  plaster,  was  a  noble 
rendering  of  one  of  the  most  contradictory  of  men  ;  and  the 
“  Pope  Pius  IX.,’’  also  sitting  (in  marble),  by  Pagliacetti,  was 
a  strong  and  admirable  rendering  of  one  of  the  really  notable 
faces  of  the  century.  Borghi  had  another  effective  work,  in 
“  Berenice’s  Hair  ”  ;  Barcaglia  two,  in  “  Love  Blinds  Us  ”  and 
“A  Bacchante” — both  in  marble;  D'Orsi  “The  Parasites,”  in 
plaster ;  Amendola,  “  Cain  and  His  Wife,”  in  plaster,  but 
effective  enough  to  deserve  the  destined  marble  ;  Monteverde 
another  effective  work,  an  “Angel  on  the  Tomb  of  Massari” ; 
and  (in  the  saloons  and  the  long  passages  connected)  a 
“  Bather,”  by  Tabacchi ;  an  “  Infant  with  Paroquet,”  by  Pagani 
(the  infant  in  marble  and  the  paroquet  in  silver)  ;  “  I’m  First, 
Sir!”  a  characteristic  group  by  Bortone ;  “  Savanarola,”  by 
Dini ;  and  many  others  that  can  only  be  passed  as  minor, 
however  creditable. 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  paper,  somewhat  hurriedly 
grouping  the  art  of  countries  other  than  France,  no  mention 
has  been  made  of  those  from  the  United  States.  Writing 
especially  for  readers  belonging  to  America,  a  separate  paper, 
actually  a  catalogue,  must  be  devoted  to  the  contributions, 
principally  pictures,  from  the  North  American  Republic. 


AMERICAN  ART,  SOLUS. 

The  location  of  the  Art  Department  of  the  U nited  States  has 
already  been  given — in  a  single  saloon,  in  conjunction  with 
that  of  Sweden  and  Norway.  And  the  opinion  lias  already 
been  clearly  expressed  that,  while  very  creditable  as  a  whole, 
it  by  no  means  reached  the  standard  shown  at  the  Exposition 
of  1867,  when,  among  many  others,  the  pictures  noted  in  VIII. 
(p.  66  of  this  volume)  were  put  before  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

The  United  States  officials  especially  connected  with  this 
department  were  as  follows  : 


D.  MAITLAND  ARMSTRONG,  Superintendent 

CoMMlTTi\F.S  OF  SELECTION. 


In  New  York  :  E.  D.  Morgan, 

J.  W.  Pinchot, 
N.  M.  Be<  Jcwilh, 
Parke  Godwin, 
Robert  G.  Dun, 


Jno.  Taylor  Johnston, 
R  . bert  Gordon, 

Henry  G.  Marquand, 
Jo'in  H.  Sherwood, 
Charles  S.  Smith. 


In  Paris:  Augustus  St.  Gaudens,  D.  Maitland  Armst'Ong, 

C.  E.  Detmold. 


Following  will  be  found  a  complete  catalogue,  alphabetically 
arranged,  of  the  American  contributions  : 

Works  in  Oil. 

Anderson,  A. — “Palm  Sunday.” 

Bacon,  Henrx — “  Land  !  Land  !” 

Beard,  W.  H.  —  “The  Wreckers.” 

Beckwith,  J.  Carroll  —  “  Portrait”  ;  “ The  Falconer.” 

Bellows,  A.  F.  —  “A  New  E  'gland  Village  School  ” 

Bl'iomer,  H.  R.  -  “Old  Bridge  at  G  ez.  ’ 

Benson,  Eugene — “Hasheesh  Smokers,  Jerusalem.” 

Boit,  Edward  D. — ‘  Beach  of  Villers,  Normandy.” 

Boughton,  Geo.  H. — “Wouter  Van  Twiller’s  First  Court  in  New 
Amsterdam.” 


AMERICAN  ART. 


339 


Bbidgman,  F.  A. — “Funeral  of  a  Mummy  on  the  Nile”;  “Allah, 
Allah,  Akbah.  ” 

Bristol,  J.  B. — “Lake  Champlain,  from  Ferrishurg,  Vt.” 

Brown,  J.  G — “St.  Patrick’s  Day”  ;  “  Ihe  Passing  Show.” 

Bunce,  W.  Gedney—  “Approach  to  "Venice.” 

Butlek,  Geo.  B.,  Jr. — “A  Cat  ”  ;  “  Dogs  on  the  Campana.” 

Cassatt,  MissM. — “Head.” 

Church,  F.  E. — “  Morning  in  the  Tropics  ”  ;  “  The  Parthenon.” 
Coleman,  Chas.  C.  —  “Decorative  Panel”;  “Venice,  Ancient  and 
Modern.” 

Colman,  Sam'l— “  Emigrant  Tram  Crossing  a  Ford  ”  ;  “  The  Guadal- 
quiver.  ” 

Coman,  Mrs.  C.  B. —  “Near  Fontainbleau.” 

Dana,  W.  P.  W. — “  The  Shore  at  Dinard  ”  ;  “  Solitude  ”  ;  “A  Squall.” 
Deforest,  Lockwood  —  “  The  Pyramid  of  Sakkareh.” 

De  Haas,  M.  F.  H.  -  “Rapids  Above  Niagara  Falls.” 

Dielman,  F. — “Patrician  Lady  of  the  16th  Century.” 

Dodson,  Miss  S.  P.  B. —  “  The  Dance.” 

Dubois,  Chas.  E.  —  “Morning  in  Venice”  ;  “Autumn”  ;  “View  on  the 
Hudson.” 

Eaton,  Wyatt — “Harvesters  at  Best”  ;  “Beverie.” 

Elliott,  C.  L.  (dec'd) — “Portrait  of  A.  W.  Morgan.” 

Flagg,  Montague — “  The  Finishing  Touch.” 

Fowler,  Frank  — “Young  Bacchus.” 

Gat,  Walter — “Landscape.” 

Gardner,  Miss  E.  J. — “  Flower  Girl  ”  ;  “Buth  and  Naomi.” 

Gifford,  B.  Swain — “New  England  Cedars.” 

Gifford,  Sandford  B. — “Mount  Benier  ”  ;  “Saint  Georgio,  Venice.” 
Graham,  William — “View  in  a  California  Cemetery.” 

Gut,  S.  J.  —  “Baby’s  Bedtime”  ;  “Learning  the  Gamut”  ;  “Portrait 
of  C.  L  Elliott.” 

Hamilton,  J.  McL  — “  Cerise.” 

Hart,  James  M. — “American  Landscape,  Indian  Summer”;  “A 
Summer  Memory  of  Berkshire.” 

Healy,  G.  P.  A. — “Portrait  of  Mrs.  Noyes”  ;  “Portrait  of  Lord 
Lyons.” 

Henry,  E.  L.  -  “  Off  for  the  Baces.” 

Homer,  Winslow.  —  “A  Country  School-Boom”  ;  “A  Visit  from  the 
Old  Mistress”;  “Snapping  the  Whip”;  “Sunday  Morning  in 
Virgini  t.  ” 


340 


PARIS  IN  78, 


Hovenden,  T. — “  A  Breton  Interior.” 

Howland,  A.  C. — “Ford’s  Glen.” 

Huntingdon,  Dan’l — “  Philosophy  and  Christian  Art”  ;  “  Portrait.” 
Inness,  Geo. — “St.  Peter's,  Home,  from  the  Tiber”;  “View  near 
Medfield,  Massachusetts.” 

Irving,  J.  B.  (dec’d) — “  The  Connoisseurs.” 

.johnson,  Eastman — “The  Corn  Husking  ”  ;  “  What  the  Shell  Says.” 
Jones,  W.  Bolton — “Return  of  the  Cows,  Brittany.” 

Kensett,  J.  F.  (dec’d)  — “The  White  Mountains.” 

Lafaege,  John — “Paradise  Valley,  Newport.” 

Lambdin,  Geo.  C. — “Boses  on  a  Wall.” 

LeClear,  T. — “Portrait  of  Parke  Godwin.” 

Lippincott,  Wm.  H. — “Portrait  of  Dr.  G.  D.  Cochrane”  ;  “Portrait  of 
Dr.  Nachmann.” 

Loomis,  Chester—  “A  Poacher  in  the  15th  Century.” 

May,  E.  II. — “Portrait  of  General  Carroll  Tevis.” 

Maynard,  Geo.  W. — “Portrait.” 

McEntee,  Jervis — “An  Autumnal  Idyl  ”  ;  “  The  Falling  Leaves.” 
Miller,  C.  H. — “Oaks  at  Creedmoor.” 

Moran,  Edward— “  Return  of  the  Life-Boat.” 

Moore,  II.  H.  — “The  Moorish  Bazaar.” 

Odinheimer,  Miss  M.  B. — “Marie.” 

Porter,  B.  C. —  “Portrait  of  Miss  Howe.” 

Quartley,  Arthur — “Morning  Effect  in  New  York  Harbor.” 

Rein,  E. —  “Winter  Evening  in  New  England.” 

Richards,  W.  T. — “In  the  Woods”;  “Spring  Landscape”;  “The 
Forest.” 

Robbins,  H.  W. — “Harbor  Islands,  Lake  George.” 

Sai.gent,  J.  L. — “Portrait  of  Miss  W - .” 

Shade,  W.  A. — “A  Page”  ;  “La  Marguerite”  ;  “My  Daily  Visitor.” 
Shirlaw,  Walter. — “Sheep-Shearing  in  the  Bavarian  Highlands.” 
Shonborn,  Lewis  T. — “Portrait.” 

Thompson,  A.  Wordsworth — “The  School-House  on  the  Hill.” 
Tiffany,  L.  C.  —  “Duane  Street,  near  William  Street,  New  York.” 
Tompkins,  Miss  Clementina — “  The  Little  Artist  ”  ;  “  RosalaFileuse.” 
Van  Schaick,  S.  W. — “Portrait.” 

Vedder,  E. — “Cumean  Sybil”;  “The  Young  Marsyas”  ;  “The  Old 
Madonna.” 

Vinton,  F.  P.  —  “  Head  of  a  Neapolitan  Boy  ”  ;  “  Head.” 

Volkmar,  Chas. — “Landscape,  with  Cattle.” 


AMERICAN  ART. 


341 


Ward,  Edgar  M. — “The  Sabot-Maker”  ;  “Venetian  Water-Carriers”  ; 

“Washing  in  Brittany.” 

Ward,  Myeon — “Head.” 

Weir,  J.  Alden — “A  Breton  Interior.” 

Weir,  John  F.— Forging  the  Shaft.” 

Williams,  F.  D.  —  “The  Marne.” 

Willmarth,  L.  E. — “Ingratitude  ” 

WHiTTEErGE,  W. — “Forest  Brook”  ;  “The  Platte  River.” 

Wood,  T.  W. — “The  Contraband  ”  ;  “  The  Recruit”  ;  “The  Veteran.” 
Wyant,  A.  H. — “A  New  England  Landscape.” 

Wylie,  Robert  (dec’d) — “Death  of  a  Vendean  Chief.” 

Yewell,  Geo.  H. — “Mosque  of  Kait  Bey,  Cairo”  ;  “Carpet  Bazaar, 
Cairo.” 

Water  Colors. 

Abbey,  E.  A. — “The  Stage-Office.” 

Bellows,  A.  F. — “A  New  England  Homestead.” 

Bricher,  A.  T. — “  In  a  Tide-Harbor.” 

Colman,  S.— “  The  Cathedral  at  Quimper.” 

Farbeb,  H.  — “  A  Quiet  Pool.” 

Gifeord,  R.  Swain— “  Evening  in  the  Sahara”;  “On  the  Lagoon, 
Venice”  ;  “Salt  Vats  at  Dartmouth.” 

Nicoll,  J.  C. — -“Shower  on  the  Coast”;  “On  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law¬ 
rence.” 

Richirds,  W.  T. — “  South  West  Point,  Conanicut.” 

Robbins,  H.  W. — “New  England  Homestead.” 

Tiffany,  L.  C. — “A  Stranger’s  Visit  to  the  Cobblers  of  Bonfrait”  ; 

“Market  Day  on  the  Cathedral  Steps  of  St.  Melaine.” 

Wust,  T.— “Sketches  of  Virginia  Negroes.” 

Wyant,  A.  H. — “  Reminiscence  of  the  Connecticut  River.” 

Drawings. 

By  E.  A.  Abbey,  engravings  by  David  Nichols  ;  by  A.  B.  Copeland, 
“Outward  Bound,”  by  Wyatt  Eaton,  “Portrait  of  H.  H.  Boyesen  ”  ; 
by  Gordon  Greenough,  ‘  ‘  Portrait  of  Countess  de  Banuelos  ”  ;  by  Mrs. 
Eliza  Greatorex,  “House  of  Talleyrand,  New  York  ”  ;  by  J.  E.  Kelly, 
“  Measuring  Boys  ”  ;  by  T.  Moran,  engravings  by  F.  S.  King. 

Etchings  and  Engravings. 

By  T.  Cole,  J.  P.  Davis,  and  F.  S.  King,  after  designs  by  J.  C. 
Beard,  Miss  F.  Bridges,  Sol.  Eytinge,  Jr ,  and  F.  Sandham  ;  by  T. 


342 


PARIS  IN  78. 


Cole,  after  various  designs  ;  by  Wyatt  Eaton,  “Lincoln’  ;  by  J.  A. 
Mitchell,  “Place  de  l’Opera  ”  and  “End  of  tlie  Act”  ;  by  IIenby 
Marsh,  after  designs  by  John  La  Farge,  Mrs.  Mary  Hallock  Foote,  and 
Miss  Helena  Le  Kay  ;  by  Frederick  Holler,  after  designs  by  Lancan. 

Statuettes. 

By  Montague  Handley,  “Bough  Day  on  the  Boman  Campagna”; 
“Cattle-Driver  of  the  Boman  Campagna  ”  ;  and  “  Portrait.” 

After  what  has  been  already  said,  it  cannot  be  here  expected 
that  any  extended  criticism  will  be  made  on  the  American 
pictures — all  the  less,  because  the  usual  conflicts  of  opinion 
have  not  been  wanting,  with  the  equally-usual  comments  on 
“  hanging,”  the  “  sight-line,”  the  “  cobwebs  of  the  ceiling,”  &c. 

Briefly,  it  may  be  said  that  among  the  very  best  of  the  genre 
and  figure  pictures  were  the  “  Corn-Huskers  ’’  of  Eastman 
Johnson,  showing  close  study  and  fine  judgment  of  color  ;  the 
“Funeral  of  a  Mummy,’’  of  that  rapidly-rising  artist,  F.  A. 
Bridgman,  with  the  figures  strong,  the  water  dull,  but  the 
sunlight  on  the  banks  thoroughly  fine  ;  the  “Sabot-Maker’’ 
and  “  Venetian  Water-Carriers,”  of  J.  M.  Ward,  representing 
entirely  different  schools,  but  both  pleasing;  the  “Forging 
the  Shaft,’’  of  John  F.  Weir,  with  the  management  ot 
hot  lights  conveying  a  reminder  of  his  splendid  1867  “Gun 
Foundry,”  though  by  no  means  equalling  that  picture  ;  the 
“Young  Marsyas”  and  “  Cumean  Sybil”  of  Vedder,  both 
faulty  in  management  and  yet  both  showing  much  strength 
and  fine  management  of  color;  the  “  Passing  Show”  of  J.  G. 
Brown,  showing  some  boys  looking  at  a  circus,  with  much 
propriety  but  no  roundness  of  effect;  the  “Snapping  the 
Whip  ’’  of  Winslow  Homer,  thoroughly  American  and  satis¬ 
factory  ;  the  “Carpet  Bazaar,  Cairo,”  of  G.  If.  Yewell,  with  fine 
management  of  lights  and  gradations  of  textures  ;  the  “  Page,’ 

“  Marguerite  ”  and  “  Daily  Visitor  ”  of  Shade,  all  pleasing,  and 
all  promising  better  things  in  the  future;  the  “Cerise”  of 
J.  McL.  Hamilton,  showing  a  Parisian  cocotte  reading,  with 
much  oddity  but  no  small  force  and  appropriateness ;  the 
“Reverie”  and  “Harvesters  at  Resty  of  Wyatt  Eaton,  the 


AMERICAN  ART. 


343 


latter  the  more  pretentious,  but  the  former  far  the  better 
picture  ;  the  “  Falconer”  of  Beckwith,  &c. 

The  most  striking  landscapes  in  the  collection  were  the 
“  Solitude,”  a  clouded  sea-moonlight,  with  many  faults  but 
much  force,  and  certainly  going  beyond  the  title  in  the  cold 
shiver  of  awful  hopeless  loneliness  which  it  created;  R.  S. 
Gifford’s  “Mount  Renier,”  with  Sierra  Nevada  snow-clad 
features  nobly  conveyed,  and  his  “San  Georgio,  Venice”  as 
pleasing  as  the  other  was  striking ;  Whittredge’s  small  but 
exquisite  “Forest  Brook,”  with  his  “Platte  River”  a  less 
pleasing  pendant ;  James  Hart’s  “  Summer  Memory  of  Berk¬ 
shire,’’  with  his  gray  faults  but  much  of  his  best  manner; 
Arthur  Quartley’s  vigorous  “New  York  Harbor,”  making 
another  of  the  pleasant  promises  of  the  future  ;  De  Haas’ 
“Niagara  Rapids,”  well  conveying  the  scene  but  not  the 
painter  ;  Wyant’s  “  New  England  Landscape  ”  ;  Bristol’s  “  Lake 
Champlain”;  McEntee’s  two  Autumn  pictures;  Moran’s 
“  Return  of  the  Life-Boat  ”  ;  and  John  Lafarge’s  anything  else 
than  paradisical  “  Paradise  Valley.” 

There  were,  fortunately,  very  few  portraits  in  the  American 
collection  ;  nor  was  there  anything  in  those  exhibited,  leading 
to  the  right  or  the  necessity  of  close  attention.  And  so  this 
brief  notice  closes  as  it  began  :  without  a  doubt  Mr.  Armstrong 
and  those  associated  with  him  did  their  best  with  the  materials 
at  command,  and  yet  America,  though  showing  many  pleasing 
pictures,  won  very  little  new  honor  before  the  world,  as,  indeed, 
the  world  won  very  little  collectively,  with  its  past  triumphs 
remembered,  in  the  Art  Exhibition  at  Paris  in  1878. 


DIS¬ 
FEATURES  OF  DIFFERENT  NATIONAL  EXHIBITS. 


Following  the  account  of  the  opening  of  the  Exposition 
some  opinions  were  expressed  as  to  the  status  of  the  show  of 
1878  as  compared  with  several  others;  and  in  the  same  con¬ 
nection  a  hurried  glance  was  taken  at  the  general  features  of 
some  of  the  exhibits.  All  that  is  additionally  intended,  here, 
is  to  indicate  the  principal  lines  in  which  the  different  countries 
made  their  more  marked  displays  ;  arid,  even  in  this,  those 
debarred  from  visiting  the  Exposition  may  at  least  catch  a 
glimpse  of  what  might  have  been  called  the  glory  of  confusion, 
while  visitors  may  find  some  aid,  even  in  the  bare  names  of 
departments,  in  recalling  the  salient  points  of  their  pleasant 
while  fatiguing  experience. 

[The  exhibits  of  the  United  States  of  America  remain  for  a 
separate  paper.] 

France. 

The  Gobelins  and  Beauvais  Tapestries. 

The  Sevres  Porcelains. 

|  Ceramics  generally,  including  Terra  Cottas  in  various  and 
many  rare  preparations. 

Cristallerie  and  glassware,  in  immense  profusion,  including 
a  Grecian  Temple  of  large  size  and  much  elaboration,  with  a 
silver  statue  of  Mercury  occupying  the  centre.  In  this  depart¬ 
ment,  the  most  notable  manufactures  were  those  of  Baccarat, 
St.  Gobain,  Clichy,  Sevres,  &c. 

The  Erard  Pianos,  some  of  them  with  rich  and  elaborate 
ornamentation. 

Goldsmiths’  Work  (“  Orfeverie  ”)  of  Christofie  and  other 
manufacturers. 

Watches  and  horologerie  from  Doubs,  Besancon,  &c. ;  and 
Musical  Toys  of  the  same  and  corresponding  derivations. 

Furniture  in  great  originality  and  variety,  including  a  Gift  to 
the  Pope,  supplied  by  subscription,  of  large  size  and  rich 


DIFFERENT  NATIONAL  EXHIBITS. 


345 


elaboration,  intended  to  contain  the  Bull  of  the  Immaculate 
Conception  translated  into  sixty  languages. 

Bronzes  in  great  diversity  and  excellence,  including  the 
“Neptune”  of  Durenne  ;  many  holy  statues  by  Denonvillez 
(founder  of  the  “  Nations,”  at  the  Trocadero  Palace),  Thiebault, 
Lemerle-Charpentier,  Delaplanche,  Lemaire,  Falguiere,  &c. 

Mechanical  Toys,  especially  the  celebrated  Singing  Birds. 

Tapestries  and  Painted  (wall)  Papers. 

Velvets;  Silks;  Ribbons;  Laces  ;  Embroideries  ;  Millinery  ; 
Robes  and  Clothing. 

Heavy  Machinery  ;  Works  and  Foundries  in  Brass  and  Iron. 

Diamonds  (commercial),  with  the  Processes  of  their  Cutting 
and  Preparation. 

Printing  Machines  and  Appliances. 

Food  and  Alimentary  Products  in  all  Varieties. 

Ivory  Carvings  ;  Filigree  Work  ;  Glass  Engraving ;  Feathers 
and  Flowers. 

Instruments  of  Music  ;  Surgical  Instruments  ;  Collections  of 
the  National  School  of  Decorative  Art,  &c. 

French  Colonies  {as  Appendiary). 

Guiana — Stuffed  Birds,  a  very  rare  collection  ;  Gold,  and 
other  Mineral  Products.  Martinique— Coffee  ;  Rum  ;  Wines 
and  Liqueurs.  Guadeloupe — Sugars  ;  Spices  ;  Fruit  Confections. 
St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon — Products  of  the  Fisheries.  Senegal— 
Tiger  Skins  and  Tropical  Products.  Gaboon — Ivories.  Tahiti — 
Mother-of-Pearl.  Reunion — Coffee;  Sugar;  Vanilla.  New 
Caledonia — Nickel  Mining  Products;  Illustrations  of  Peniten¬ 
tiary  Service. 

Great  Britain. 

The  Indian  Collection,  already  named,  and  embracing,  among 
its  chief  objects,  a  Palankeen  of  Carved  Ivory  ;  a  Throne  of 
Silver;  an  Elephant  Howdah,  absolutely  solid,  of  gold  and 
silver;  Horse  Trappings  equally  costly  and  elaborate  ;  Arms  of 
the  East,  in  precious  metals  and  jewels;  crowns,  coronets,  and 
personal  adornments  of  great  number  and  value. 


346 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Glass  Work,  including  a  Fauteuil  in  that  material,  really  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  Exposition,  and  a  copy  of  the  Portland 
Vase  (British  Museum),  exciting  only  less  attention. 

Ceramics,  in  infinite  variety,  including  the  superb  potteries 
of  Doulton,  Worcester,  Minton  and  Wedgevvood. 

Goldsmiths’  Work,  especially  the  superb  exhibition  of  El  king- 
ton,  rich  in  reproductions  of  antique  art. 

Watches  and  Jewelry. 

Furniture  ;  especially  notable  in  large  pieces,  the  “  Fountain 
of  Helicon,”  in  white  wood,  by  a  Scotchman,  Peter  Cairns,  and 
excelling  most  of  the  Continental  work  ;  and  the  diversity  and 
richness  of  the  whole  array  quite  matched  by  its  evident  solidity 
of  workmanship. 

Sheffield  Cutlery. 

Arms,  in  all  modern  inventions  and  improvements. 

Birmingham  Manufactures,  principally  in  metals. 

Velvets;  Cloths;  Silks,  and  Manchester  Cottons. 

Kidderminster  and  other  carpetings. 

Robes  ;  Clothing  ;  Boots  and  Shoes. 

Perfumeries,  especially  those  of  Rimmel,  with  an  absolute 
palace  for  their  display. 

Laces  ;  Threads  in  all  manufactures  ;  Yarns. 

Metallurgic  Products. 

Chemical  Goods  and  Products. 

Manufacturing  Machinery. 

Alpine  Club  Map  of  Switzerland,  engraved  by  Stanford. 

Steam  Engines;  Printing  Machines;  Agricultural  and 
Industrial  Machinery,  &c. 

Canada  {as  Appendiary). 

Marbles;  Metallic  and  Mining  Products;  Furs  and  Skins; 
Marmalades  and  other  Fruit  Preparations;  Snow  Shoes  and 
Weapons  of  the  Chase  ;  Swinging  Chairs  ;  Fishery  Implements  ; 
Agricultural  Products. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  {as  Appefidiary). 

Furs;  Skins;  Ivories;  Grains;  Woods;  Native  Wines; 
Indigenous  Flowers  ;  Portraits  of  Inhabitants. 


DIFFERENT  NATIONAL  EXHIBITS. 


347 


Australia  {as  Appendiary). 

Furs  in  immense  variety ;  Kangaroos  and  other  Preserved 
Animals  (the  kangaroo  forming  part  of  the  Australian  Arms)  ; 
W  ines ;  Mining  Products  (gold,  silver,  &c.) ;  Medical  and 
Agricultural  Products  ;  Orfeverie,  Jewelry,  and  Filigree  Work  ; 
Preserved  Fruits  in  great  variety  ;  Ostrich  Eggs,  natural  and 
elaborated. 

New  South  Wales  and  Queensland  {as  Appendiary). 

Picture  of  Sydney;  Tobacco;  Skins;  Wines;  Pictures  of 
Indigenous  Cattle  ;  elaborate  Tables  of  Cattle  Products  of  the 
sections  (somewhat  doubted  by  the  French,  it  is  worthy  of 
notice). 

Belgium 

Laces,  of  Brussels,  Malines,  &c.,  in  unequalled  display  and 
richness. 

Belgian  Glass  Products,  Mirrors,  &c.,  especially  large,  per¬ 
fect  and  notable. 

Ceramics;  Faiences;  Wrought  Marbles. 

Carved  Woods  (“  Bois  de  Spa”),  rivalling  the  Swiss  ;  Furni¬ 
ture. 

Locomotives;  Railway  Carriages;  Wagons,  in  immense 
variety  ;  Railway  Appliances  and  Inventions  ;  Industrial  and 
other  heavy  Machinery. 

Austria. 

Bohemian  Glasses,  in  every  detail  of  that  rare  manufacture. 

Musical  Instruments. 

Jewelry. 

Silk  Curtains  and  Embroideries. 

Hand-made  Laces  of  Bohemian  Mountains. 

Vienna  Pipes  and  Meerschaum  Goods,  in  corresponding 
variety. 

Clocks,  principally  of  carved  woods,  in  diversity  and  beauty 
equal  to  either  of  the  before-named. 

Bronzes;  Furniture;  Boots  and  Shoes  ;  Cloths;  Carriages; 
Waxen  Column  ;  Machines,  <Sic. 


348 


PARIS  IS  78. 


Hungary  {as  appertaining). 

Gigantic  Tun,  emblematically  carved,  and  rivalling  that  of 
Heidelberg. 

The  Musicians  Tziganes,  with  their  characteristic  building. 

Photography;  Potteries;  Mining  Products  ;  Wines  ;  Carved 
Goods,  &c. 

Russia. 

Plaster  Models,  ingeniously  proving,  by  machinery,  the 
passage  of  air  through  solid  substances. 

Arrangement  of  Studies  and  Records  in  Natural  History, 
considered  one  of  the  most  complete  in  the  world. 

Malachite  of  Siberia,  in  Vases,  Tables,  and  many  other  ob¬ 
jects  of  art. 

Golden  Mosaics  of  Moscow. 

Jewelry  and  Goldsmiths’  Work,  much  of  it  very  ingenious, 
and  some  reproducing  the  Byzantine. 

Ceramics,  in  good  variety  and  originality. 

Furs,  especially  varied,  rich  and  rare. 

Cloths  and  Stuff  Manufactures. 

Tallow  and  heavy  Chemical  Products. 

Remarkable  Clock,  with  oscillating  sunflower  face  and  some 
amusing  machinery. 

Drosschkis  and  other  Carriages. 

Heavy  Industrial  and  other  Machinery. 

Switzerland 

Velvets  and  Silks  of  Zurich. 

Embroideries  of  great  richness  and  taste — many  of  them 
from  St.  Gall. 

Watches  and  Musical  Boxes  from  Geneva,  Chaux-de- 
Fonds,  &c. 

Bijouterie  in  wide  range  of  manufactures. 

Carved  Woods  of  all  varieties  of  excellence,  and  from  many 
Cantons. 

Cheeses  and  Milk  Products. 

Charts  of  the  St.  Gothard  Tunnel ;  Machine  illustrating  the 
ascent  of  the  Rhigi,  &c. 


DIFFERENT  NATIONAL  EXHIBITS. 


Holland. 

Liquors;  Tobacco;  Pipes. 

Viands  of  “  Peptone,”  for  artificial  digestion. 

Chocolate  in  a  majestic  monument ;  Stearine  in  large  quan¬ 
tity. 

Carpets  ;  Glassvvork  ;  Cottonades  and  other  stuffs. 

Bricks  ;  Cordages  ;  Oils. 

Plans  and  Charts  of  the  Public  Works  of  Holland — drying 
of  the  Haarlem  Lake,  clearing  of  the  Meuse,  &c. 

Monument  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  in  form  of  an  immense 
Indian  wigwam  of  native  woods,  and  with  the  products  of  the 
various  colonies  surrounding. 

Charts  of  Public  Instruction,  Geography,  &c. 

Machinery,  heavy  and  practical. 

Sweden  and  Norway. 

Ceramics — the  most  important  those  of  Rorstrand  ;  Glass¬ 
ware ;  Jewelry  and  Filigree  Work,  much  of  it  of  a  striking 
originality  and  peculiar  Northern  taste. 

Furs,  many  of  them  displayed  in  a  trophy  in  form  of  a  pyra¬ 
mid,  and  the  collection  very  complete  and  valuable. 

Mining  Products  of  unequalled  richness  and  value. 

Wood  Tapestry  (“  Pate  de  Bois  ”)  of  singular  originality. 

Embroideries  ;  Bijouterie  ;  Wood  Carvings  ;  Toys,  principally 
from  the  peasantry. 

Costumes  of  the  North;  Stuffs;  Articles  of  Domestic  Use 
and  Industry;  Perfumeries;  Matches  in  endless  profusion; 
Appliances  for  Lighting  and  Warming  in  cold  regions. 

Denmark  and  Greece. 

[Denmark  and  Greece  being  almost  absolutely  conjoined  in 
the  Exhibition,  many  visitors  were  puzzled  to  distinguish  at 
first  glance  between  the  productions  of  the  two.] 

Of  Denmark — Furs;  Painted  Hemicycle  of  Costumes  of  the 
country  ;  Potteries  of  much  merit  and  fine  taste  ;  Tapestries  ; 
Carpets;  Cordage;  Instruments  of  Fishing  and  the  Chase; 


350 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Alimentary  Products ;  Beer  (some  of  it  after  a  two  years’ 
expedition  around  the  world) ;  Jewelry  and  Silversmiths 
Work ;  Watches. 

Of  Greece — Marbles  in  great  and  beautiful  diversity;  Woods 
of  the  country,  well  arranged  ;  Mineral  Exhibits  of  the  French 
Company  of  the  Mines  of  Laurium  ;  Santorin  and  other  wines; 
Raisins;  Oils;  Photographs  of  Recent  Antique  Discoveries; 
admirable  Stairway  leading  to  the  rooms  of  the  Commission,  &c. 

Spain. 

Ceramics,  including  Arabic  and  other  Potteries,  of  fine  taste 
and  great  variety;  two  Magnificent  Vases  after  Benvenuto 
Cellini ;  Wood  Mosaic  containing  millions  of  pieces,  and  of 
large  value;  Mantillas  and  Fans  in  endless  varieties  ;  Woollen 
Manufactures;  brilliant  Stuffs  of  Andalusia  and  Catalonia; 
Arms  and  Materials  of  War;  Figures  in  Costumes  of  Spanish 
Army;  Toledo  Blades  and  other  Cutlery ;  Leathers  in  richest 
manufactures;  Skins;  Steel  Cannon;  Mining  Products; 
Industrial  and  Labor-Saving  Machines  ;  Valuable  Engineering 
Models,  &c. 

Bronze  Bust  of  M.  Emilio  Santez,  Spanish  Commissioner  to 
the  Exposition,  surrounded  by  various  industrial  emblems. 


Portugal. 

Photographs,  very  fine,  of  the  Cloisters  of  Belem  (near 
Lisbon),  and  of  the  projected  Convent  of  Batalha,  most  of  them 
special  work  of  M.  Carlos  Relvas  ;  also  of  the  University  of 
Coimbra,  Monuments,  Costumes,  &c. ;  of  the  Bulls  of  the 
Arena,  &c. 

Model  of  Iron  Bridge  over  the  Douro;  Furniture  in  ebony 
and  ivory ;  Wood  Sculptures ;  Arabic  Potteries  and  other 
Ceramics,  including  Faiences  by  Coldas ;  Filigree  Work ; 
Figures  with  Costumes  of  Portugal ;  Damask  and  other  Silks 
and  Embroideries  ;  Cigars  and  Tobacco ;  Pyrites  of  Iron  and 
other  Mineral  Products;  Oporto,  Madeira,  and  other  Wines; 
Labor-Saving  Machines,  &c. 


DIFFERENT  NATIONAL  EXHIBITS. 


351 


Italy. 

Venetian  Glass  Manutactures,  including  the  celebrated 
productions  of  the  Society  of  Murano  and  ot  Salviati — display 
of  great  extent  and  unparalleled  richness,  including  the 
“Treasure  of  St.  Marc,”  an  exact  copy  of  the  Cup  of  the  same 
name  in  the  Church  of  St.  Marc  at  Venice,  the  equally  celebra¬ 
ted  “  Vases  Murrhins,’’  many  imitations  of  the  Byzantine 
Antiques,  &c. ;  Mosaics  in  array  equally  profuse  and  invaluable, 
and  of  the  three  varieties,  Venetian,  Florentine,  and  Roman. 

Reproductions  of  Pictures  by  the  Great  Masters,  also  in 
Mosaics;  Pictures  in  Wood  Mosaics;  Ceramics  rivalling  the 
antique  productions  of  the  same  country,  including  the  Majoli¬ 
cas  and  Faiences  of  Gubio,  Urbino,  Faenza,  &c. ;  Straw  Manu¬ 
factures,  in  variety  and  beauty  equalling  either  of  the  others 
named;  Musical  Instruments;  Silks;  Jewelry  (the  Florentine 
notable);  Sculptured  Furniture;  Preserved  Fruits;  Wines; 
Instruments  of  Precision  ;  Machinery. 

Japan. 

Porcelains  and  Lacquered  Goods  in  great  variety  and  rich¬ 
ness  ;  Silk  Embroideries  ;  Sculptured  Woods  ;  Furniture ; 
Carved  Ivories  ;  Bronze  Articles  ;  Domestic  and  Characteristic 
Goods ;  Teas. 

China. 

Porcelains  and  Lacquered  Goods;  Fans;  Screens;  Bed¬ 
chamber  Furniture,  including  one  Rosewood  Bedstead  said  to 
be  worth  $5,000  ;  Ironwood  Furniture  for  saloon,  also  said  to  be 
worth  $5,000  ;  other  Furniture  in  woods,  carved  ivories,  &c. ; 
Silks  and  Stuffs  ;  Museum  of  National  Costumes  ;  Teas. 

Persia. 

Persian  Carpets  ;  Furniture,  embroidered  with  the  needle; 
Damascened  Steel  Goods  and  other  fine  Works  in  Metals ; 
Wines  of  Shiraz;  Damascened  Arms  ;  Toilet  and  other  Boxes 
in  Sculptured  Woods;  Toilet  Articles  ;  Stuffs;  Perfumes. 


352 


PARIS  IN  78. 


Tunis. 

Carpets  in  especially  bright  colors  ;  Stuffs  embroidered  in 
gold  ;  Damascened  Weapons  ;  Tables  and  other  Furniture  of 
HardWoods;  Potteries;  Hookahs  and  other  Pipes  ;  Tobaccos. 

Siam. 

Stuffs  ;  Musical  Instruments ;  Bed  in  Red  Lacquer,  consid¬ 
ered  especially  elegant  and  tempting  ;  Domestic  and  Toilet 
Articles. 

Luxembourg. 

Perfumery;  Liquors;  Beer;  Pottery,  very  original  in  form 
and  color;  Metal  Goods;  Educational  Exhibit,  &c. 

Andorre. 

Figures  in  Costume  of  the  Country;  Wines;  Tobaccos; 
Sausages.  (On  dit,  that  both  the  tobacco  and  the  sausages 
were  poisoned,  and  so  labelled,  to  prevent  stealing,  to  which 
some  had  been  previously  subject.) 

Argentine  Republic. 

Stuffed  Birds ;  Skins  ;  Preserved  Meats ;  Curious  Stairway 
in  Cedar  Wood  ;  Costumes. 

Peru. 

Imitations  of  Ancient  Monuments  and  Palaces ;  Figures  in 
Costume  of  Lima ;  Plan  of  the  great  Inca  Road  leading  to 
Chili;  Pictures  of  Places  and  People;  Carpets;  Jewelry  and 
Filigree  Work  ;  Guano  ! 

Hayti. 

Coffees;  Spices;  Native  Woods;  Fruits;  Hammocks  and 
other  Tropical  Furniture  and  Appliances. 

Uruguay. 

Nuts  of  many  varieties  ;  Wool;  Tobacco;  Preserved  Meats 
and  Fruits;  Photographs  of  Country  and  People. 

Venezuela. 

Fine  Straw  Goods;  Tobacco  and  Cigars;  Coffee  and  Cocoa. 

Nicaragua. 

Straw  Goods ;  Hammocks  and  other  Tropical  Furniture; 
Native  Woods  ;  Figures  in  Costume  of  the  Country. 


XLI. 

PROMINENT  AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  AWARDS. 

In  an  earlier  paper  of  this  volume,  “The  Exposition  That 
Was  Opened  ”  (No.  VIII.,  pp.  59  to  69),  some  idea  was  given 
of  the  general  character  of  the  American  exhibits,  though  no 
attempt  was  made  at  enumerating  or  classing  them.  In  this 
concluding  paper  will  be  found  mentioned  the  American 
exhibits  and  awards  of  most  prominence,  and  that,  either 
from  their  character  or  the  high  premium  accorded,  seem  to 
have  been  among  the  most  notable  things  of  the  year. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  partial  record,  however,  it  should 
be  noted  that  the  number  of  awards  given  to  American  Educa¬ 
tional  Books  and  systems,  has  been  phenomenal,  and  reflecting 
the  very  highest  credit  upon  the  American  management  of 
that  important  branch  of  human  welfare.  Very  wisely,  as 
already  said  in  the  paper  before  referred  to,  the  illustrations 
of  the  systems  and  means  of  teaching,  in  nearly  all  branches, 
were  freely  sent  to  the  Exposition  ;  and  the  result  was  found 
(without  reckoning  the  strictly  personal  honors  hereafter  to 
be  noted)  in  Medals  (most  of  them  with  Diplomas)  to  the 
National  Bureau  of  Education,  at  Washington  ;  to  the  State 
Exhibits  of  Ohio,  Massachusetts,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  New  Jersey,  Kansas,  Rhode  Island,  Wisconsin,  and 
possibly  other  States  overlooked  in  the  great  aggregate ;  to 
the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  Harvard  University, 
Columbia  College,  the  Peabody  Foundation  for  Education  in 
the  South,  the  Perkins  Blind  Institute  of  Boston,  Boston 
University,  Hampton  Institute,  Georgia  Female  College,  State 
University  of  Michigan,  State  University  of  Wisconsin,  Hamil¬ 
ton  College,  Vassar  Female  College,  Wellesley  Female  College, 
Industrial  University  of  Illinois,  Williston  Seminary,  Mount 
Holyoke  Seminary,  Washington  College,  Cooper  Union,  and 
probably  others  (again)  overlooked ;  to  the  Exhibits  made  by 


24 


354 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


the  Cities  of  Washington,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Cincinnati, 
Albany,  Milwaukee,  St.  Louis,  Portsmouth,  &c. ;  and  to  various 
other  and  minor  organizations,  as  well  as  to  the  compilers 
(T.  W.  Higginson  and  William  Swinton  being  prominent  among 
them)  of  educational  manuals,  and  to  their  publishers  in  infinite 
number. 

It  is  necessarily  impossible,  in  the  limited  space  at  our  com¬ 
mand,  to  notice  any  considerable  proportion  of  the  honors 
which  may  be  called  festival,  connected  with  the  Exposition, 
and  reflected  upon  Americans.  We  cannot  pass,  however, 
without  referring  to  one  event  of  special  importance — the 
banquet  offered  to  ex-President  Grant,  during  his  early  sojourn 
in  Paris,  by  the  exhibitors  of  the  7th  group,  headed  by  Mr.  E. 
T.  Bell,  of  the  house  of  W.  J.  Wilcox  &  Co.,  New  York,  who 
wras  President  of  the  Committee  on  the  occasion,  and  also 
Commissioner  from  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  pleasure  of 
this  festival  was  materially  added  to  by  the  tender,  on  behalf 
of  Messrs.  Wilcox  &  Co.,  of  the  splendid  pavilion  erected  by 
them  for  the  exposition  of  their  products,  and  constructed  of 
natural  American  woods,  with  enviable  taste  and  beauty. 
This  banquet,  graced  by  the  presence  of  most  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  and  other  officials,  may  be  said  to  have  been  really  one  of 
the  features  of  the  brilliant  season. 

While  dealing  with  this  matter,  closely  connected  with  indi¬ 
vidual  celebrity,  it  is  proper  to  give,  additionally,  what  may 
be  called  the  personal  expositionary  honors  of  the  season,  as 
they  fell  to  the  lot  of  Americans,  during  the  Exposition,  at  its 
close  or  somewhat  later,  after  the  opening  of  1879.  As  a  mat¬ 
ter  of  comparison  it  may  be  noted  that,  at  the  Paris  Exposi¬ 
tion  of  1867,  twelve  Americans  received  the  order  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  and  at  the  Vienna  Exhibition  of  1873,  ten 
received  the  order  of  Francis  Joseph  of  Austria.  At  the  Paris 
Exposition  of  1878,  something  more  than  a  score  of  Ameri¬ 
cans  were  decorated,  the  advance  thus  shown  being  well  in 
place  with  the  marked  increase  of  volume  of  products  exhi¬ 
bited,  and  the  corresponding  appreciation  of  the  national  repu¬ 
tation.  These  decorations  may  be  thus  specified  : 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS. 


355 


Gov. Richard  C.  McCormick,  Commissioner-General  (whose 
services  to  the  Exposition  are  fully  recognized  by  this 
volume  in  its  dedication,  and  who  materially  added  to  his  ser¬ 
vices  by  an  article  recounting  the  American  triumphs,  in  the 
North  American  Review,  July,  1879),  received  the  decoration 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  with  the  rank  of  Commander.  A 
much  more  important  and  significant  honor,  however,  was 
conferred  on  the  Commissioner-General,  in  October-Novem- 
ber,  1878,  in  the  presentation  of  two  bronze  statues,  “Venus 
Armed  “and  “  Egyptian  Priestess,”  the  voluntary  contributions 
of  American  exhibitors,  the  final  ceremonies  connected  with 
which  occurred  at  the  Hotel  Windsor,  Rue  de  Rivoli,  on 
Thu  rsday  evening,  the  7th  November.  (Among  those  promi¬ 
nently  connected  with  the  bestowment  of  this  well-deserved 
honor,  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of  Messrs.  Justus 
O.  Woods,  of  the  house  of  Wheeler  &  Wilson  ;  E.  T. 
Bell,  of  the  house  of  W.  J.  Wilcox  &  Co. ;  Herman  Marcus, 
representing  the  house  of  Tiffany  &  Co.  ;  W.  R.  Page,  of 
the  Howe  Scale  Company ;  and  Geo.  R.  Ostheimer,  of 
Ostheimer  Brothers). 

The  decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  with  the  rank  of 
Officer,  was  received  by  Messrs  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  Andrew  D. 
White  and  William  W.  Story,  of  the  Commission,  and  Messrs. 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick  and  Walter  A.  Wood,  exhibitors. 

The  same  decoration,  with  the  rank  of  Chevalier,  was  re¬ 
ceived  by  Messrs.  William  P.  Blake  and  Edward  H.  Knight, 
Honorary  Commissioners ;  Messrs.  Thomas  Alva  Edison,  Elisha 
Gray,  Charles  L.  Tiffany,  Henry  Brewster,  F  A.  Bridgeman, 
J.  Van  D.  Reed,  and  William  A.  Cole,  exhibitors  ;  and  Messrs. 
Auguste  H.  Girard,  Secretary  ;  Henry  Pettit,  Engineer  and 
Architect;  John  D.  Philbrick,  Superintendent  of  Educational 
Division  ;  D.  Maitland  Armstrong,  Superintendent  of  Art 
Gallery  ;  Thomas  R.  Pickering,  Superintendent  of  Machinery 
Division  ;and  Lieut.  Benjamin  H.  Buckingham,  Naval  Attache. 

The  Gold  Palm  of  the  University,  with  the  title  of  “  Officer 
of  Public  Instruction,”  was  also  given  to  Dr.  Philbrick  (above 
named),  and  to  Commissioner  Eaton,  of  the  Bureau  of  Educa- 


356 


F AEIS  II V  ’78. 


tion  ;  and  the  Silver  Palm  of  the  University,  with  the  title  of 
“  Officer  of  the  Academy,”  was  conferred  on  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris, 
of  St.  Louis,  Mr.  Henry  Kiddle,  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  J.  O. 
Wilson,  of  Washington,  D.  C„  Superintendents  of  Public  In¬ 
struction  in  their  respective  cities. 

Of  honors,  other  than  those  already  named,  and  that  claim 
to  be  considered  as  peculiar,  may  be  mentioned  the  no  less 
than  one  hundred  and  forty  gold  medals  taken  at  this  time  by 
American  exhibitors,  as  against  eighteen  in  1867,  and  the  re¬ 
ception  of  eight  of  very  large  size,  as  “Grand  Prizes,”  by 
Messrs.  Edison  and  Gray,  for  the  phonograph  and  telephone, 
Tiffany  &  Co.,  C.  H.  McCormick,  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Manufac¬ 
turing  Company,  Memphis  Cotton  Exchange,  Jerome  Wheel- 
ock,  and  Bergner  &  Engel,  for  the  various  productions  with 
which  their  names  are  so  well  known  to  be  connected.  Also, 
the  winning  of  no  less  than  seven  of  the  twelve  “  objects  of 
art”  offered  by  the  Agricultural  Society  of  France  for  the 
most  successful  machines  in  field  trials,  by  American  manu¬ 
facturers,  necessarily  headed  by  Walter  A.  Wood  and  Cyrus 
If.  McCormick.  Also,  the  exceptional  and  special  prize  given 
to  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  for  their  collec¬ 
tive  exhibit,  embracing,  among  other  features,  sections  of  the 
great  wire  cables  used  in  the  construction  of  the  New  York 
East  River  Bridge,  of  which  Col.  W.  A.  Roebling  is  the  chief 
engineer.  These  sections  were  a  pleasing  surprise  to  many 
visitors,  and  in  much  demand  for  British  and  Continental 
museums. 

In  the  Art  Department  but  four  awards  were  secured — be¬ 
lieved  by  many,  but  not  all,  to  be  entirely  inadequate  to  the 
excellence  of  the  display.  These  were,  a  Silver  Medal  to  Mr. 
F.  A.  Bridgeman,  for  the  “Funeral  of  a  Mummy  a  Bronze 
Medal  to  Mr.  S.  W.  P.  Dana,  for  “  Solitude  v;  and  Honorable 
Mention  to  Mr.  John  Lafarge,  for  “  Paradise  Valley,  near 
Newport,’’  and  Mr.  Walter  Shirlaw,  for  “  Sheep  Shearing  in 
the  Bavarian  Highlands.” 

The  standing  of  most  of  the  more  important  American 
Exhibits,  and  the  honors  won  by  them,  will  be  very  fairly 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  AWARDS ■ 


357 


conveyed  by  the  selections  following  from  the  awards,  in 
which  the  effort  has  been  made  to  group  most  of  those  articles 
reflecting  the  highest  credit  upon  American  invention  and 
industry,  without  attempting  to  name  nearly  all  of  the  im¬ 
mense  number  reaching  above  seven  hundred, 

TAKING  GRAND  PRIZES. 

Bergner  &  Engel,  Philadelphia. — Lager  Beer,  in  Casks. 

Edison,  Thomas  Alva,  Menlo  Park,  N.  J. — Phonograph;  Quadruple  Electric 
Pen;  Speaking  Telephone;  Musical  Telephone;  Pressure  Belay;  and  Electro- 
motographe. 

Gray,  Elisha,  Chicago,  Ill. — Apparatus  for  transmitting  Musical  and  other  sounds 
by  Telegraph;  including  the  Multiple  Acoustic  Telegraph,  Way  Duplex  Tele¬ 
graph,  Musical  Telephone,  and  Speaking  Telephone. 

Memphis  Cotton  Exchange,  Memphis,  Tenn. — Tennessee  Cotton. 

McCormick,  C.  II.,  Chicago,  Ill. — Mowing,  Reaping  and  Binding  Machines. 
Tiffa-ny  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — (Jewelers,  Gold  and  Silver  Smiths,  and  Art 
Metal  Workers,  Makers  of  Diamond  and  Gem  Jewelry). — Gold  and  Enamelled 
Jewelry  of  Special  and  Original  Designs.  Silver  of  923-1000  quality  Spoons, 
Eorks,  and  Articles  for  Domestic  Use.  Art  Work  in  Silver  and  other  Metals, 
Repousse  Work  of  high  quality.  Incrustated  Work.  Chromatic  Decoration  of 
Silver.  Damascened  WTork  of  Steel,  Gold,  Silver,  and  Copper.  Hammered 
Silver,  decorated  with  Alloys  of  various  metals  and  their  patines.  Mixed  or 
laminated  metals,  consisting  of  Gold,  Silver,  Copper,  and  their  alloys.  Electro- 
deposited  Works.  Exact  reproductions  in  Gold  of  the  Curium  Treasures, 
Cesnola  Collection,  and  reproductions  in  all  metals  of  Museum  articles.  Elec¬ 
trotype  reproduction  of  the  “  Bryant  Vase.”  [In  addition  to  the  award  and 
decoration  before  noted,  Tiffany  k  Co.  received  six  special  awards  for  co¬ 
laborers,  and  a  Gold  Medal  for  Jewelry  composed  entirely  of  goldsmith's 
work,  with  no  diamonds  or  other  precious  stones  to  assist  in  giving  brilliancy, 
the  merit  being  concentrated  in  design  and  workmanship.] 

Wheelock,  Jerome,  Worcester,  Mass. — Steam-Engine,  with  Patent  Automatic  Cut-off, 
Patent  Packing,  &c.;  furnishing  Motive  Power  for  the  United  States,  Norwegian, 
and  Swedish  Departments. 

Whetler  &  Wilson  3Ianufacturing  Company,  New  York  City,  and 
Bridgeport,  Conn. — Sewing  Machines  for  General  Use;  Attachments  for 
Machines  and  Cabinet  Work;  Sewing  Machines  used  for  Industrial  Education ; 
Machines  for  Sewing  Books;  Specimens  of  Work  made  with  Machines.  [The 
Machines  of  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company  are  adapted  to 
every  kind  of  domestic  sewing,  and  every  grade  of  manufacture  ot  6titched 
goods.  Of  their,  new  styles  of  machines,  the  “No.  6”  is  especially  adapted  to  the 
stitching  of  boots  and  shoes,  and  leather  work  generally  ;  the  “No.  7"  to 
tailoring  and  heavy  manufacturing;  the  “No.  8“  to  domestic  sewing  and  a 
wide  range  of  light  manufacturing.  AJ’ter  the  magnificent  successes  of  this 
Company  at  Paris  in  18G7,  Vienna  1873,  and  Philadelphia  1S7G,  the  fact  that  at 
Paris  in  1878,  the  Only  Grand  Prize  for  Sewing  Machines  was  awarded  to  this 
Company,  over  eighty  competitors,  stamps  their  products  as  superior  to  all 


358 


PA  BIS  IB  78. 


others  of  that  class,  and  fully  confirms  the  judgment  before  rendered  by  the 
highest  authorities  in  the  United  States,  that  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Machine 
is  “  The  Best  Sewing  Apparatus  in  the  World.”}  (See  “  Announcements.") 

American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers.— Models,  Plans  and  Photographs.  [Diploma, 
&c.,  equivalent  to  Grand  Prize.] 

TAKING  GOLD  MEDALS. 

Abendroth  Brothers,  New  York  City. — Stoves,  Ranges,  and  Heating  Apparatus. 

American  Watcli  Co.,  Waltham,  Mass. — Watches,  Watch  Movements,  and 
Watch  Materials. 

Appleton,  D.  Si  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text  Books  for  Elementary,  Secondary 
and  Superior  Instruction,  G1  vols.,  in  Educational  Department.  Miscellaneous 
Books. 

Daier,  Walter  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Chocolate  and  Cocoa. 

Barnum,  Richardson  &  Co.,  Lime  Rock,  Conn. — Salisbury  Iron  Ores,  Charcoal  Pig 
Iron,  Car  Wheels,  &c. 

Bechtel,  George,  Stapleton,  S.  I ,  N.  Y. — Lager  Beer. 

Best,  Philip,  Brewing  Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. — Lager  beer,  bottled  for  Export. 

Bigelow  Carpet  Company,  Clinton,  Mass. — Wilton  Carpeting.  [The  original 
power-loom  Manufacturers  of  Wilton  and  Brussels  Carpets.]  (See  “  Announce¬ 
ments.  ’’) 

Booss,  F.  Si  Brotlier,  New  York  City. — Fancy  Furs  for  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
Sleigh  Robes  and  Skins.  [Specialty  of  Seal  Sacques,  Dolmans,  and  Fur-lined 
Garments.]  (See  “  Announcements .  ") 

Brewster  Si  Co.,  New  York  City. — Thirteen  Vehicles,  ranging  from  Four-Horse 
Drag,  through  all  varieties  of  elegant  Carriage  Manufacture,  to  Racing  Sulkey, 
all  fitted  with.  “  Rubber-Cushioned  Axle."  (See  “  Announcements.")  [In  addi¬ 
tion  to  this  Gold  Medal  to  Firm  of  “Brewster  &  Co.,"  decoration  of  Chevalier 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor  to  Mr.  Henry  Brewster,  senior  of  the  firm  (elsewhere 
mentioned)  ;  also  Silver  Medal ;  and  Bronze  Medal  and  Three  Diplomas  to  five 
heads  of  departments  of  manufacture.] 

Brown  &  Sharpe,  Providence,  R.  I. — Machine  Tools. 

Burt,  E.  C.,  New  York  City. — Ladies’  Boots  and  Shoes. 

Collins  Si  Co.,  Hartford,  Conn. — Axes,  Hatchets,  Picks;  Railway  and  Mining 
Tools;  Steel  Ploughs,  Gang  Ploughs,  &c. 

Dixon,  Joseph,  Crucible  Co.,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. — Lumber  Pencils;  Lubricating 
Plumbago;  Founders’  Perfect  Wash;  Carburet  of  Iron;  Stove  Polish;  Pencils 
and  Crucibles. 

Daryeas’  Glen  Cove  Manufacturing  Co.,  Glen  Cove,  Long  Island,  New 
York. — Maizena  and  Starch.  [  This  award  is  a  continuation  of  an  unbroken 
recoi  d  of  success,  having  received  the  highest  award  in  every  instance  of 
competitive  exhibition. ]  (See  “  Announcements .  ’’) 

Fa  air Ibanks,  E.  and  T.  &  Co.,  St.  Johnsbury.Vt, ,  and  New  York  City  — Railway 
Track  Scales.  Scales  for  Weighing  Cattle,  and  fcr  Various  Farm  Uses.  Iron 
Scales  for  Foundries,  Rolling-Mills,  &c.  Metric  Scales  and  Weights,  for  use  in 
Schools,  with  Case.  Scales  for  Druggists’  Use.  Newspaper  and  Letter  Scales. 
Cotton  Beam  Frame  and  Scales.  Weighing  Machines  for  General  Use.  [Class 
54. — Gold  Medal.  Highest  Award  given,  for  General  Exhibit.  Class  76. 
— Gold  Medal.  Highest  Award  and  only  Gold  Medal  to  any  Scale  Manufac¬ 
turer.  Class  15. —  Silver  Medal.  Highest  Award,  and  only,  to  any  Scale 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS 


359 


Manufacturer,  for  Accuracy  and  Precision.  Class  68. — Silver  Medal.  High¬ 
est  Award  for  Weighing  Machines  for  Military  Transport  Service.  Class  64. 
— Bronze  Medal.  Highest  Award  for  Railroad  Track  Scales.  Class  61. — 
Gold  Medal.  Highest  Award  for  Perfected  Type-Writer.  Class  54. — Special 
Award  for  Oscillating  Pumps. ]  (See  “  Announcements.”  ) 

Fairchild,  Leroy  W.,  New  York  City. — Gold  pens;  Gold  and  Silver  pencil 
cases,  &c.  [  Also  awarded  thirteen  Highest  medals,  at  other  exhibitions .  ] 

Gillott,  Joseph,  New  York,  and  Birmingham,  England. — Steel  pens,  for  Fine 
Writing,  General  Writing,  and  Broad  Writing,  as  used  in  the  First  Commer¬ 
cial  Houses  in  the  World.  (See  “Announcements.  ”) 

Globe  Horseshoe  Nail  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Horseshoe  Nails  made  from  cold 
rolled  iron.  (Two  Medals.) 

Goodyear,  Henry  B.,  New  York  City. — Machines  for  Making  Boots  and  Shoes. 

Gossamer  Rubber  Clothing  Company,  Boston,  Mass. — Rubber  Clothing,  Water  and 
Heat  Proof. 

Hancock.  Inspirator  Co.,  The,  Boston,  Mass. — Improved  Injector  for  feed¬ 
ing  water  to  boilers.  [Lifts  water  25  feet ;  requires  no  adjustment  for  varying 
steam  pressures ;  works  reliably,  high  or  low  steam,  high  or  low  lift,  and 
takes  water  (suction)  150  °  Fah.  Useful  for  Marine,  Stationary,  or  Locomotive 
Purposes,  and  Portable  Engines  and  Boilers.] 

Harper  Brothers,  New  York  City. — Text  Books  for  Elementary  and 
Secondary  Instruction,  194  volumes.  Miscellaneous  Books  and  Periodicals. 

Hoopes  <&  Townsend,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Bolts,  Rivets  and  Nuts. 

Herring,  Farrell  Si  Sherman,  New  York  City. — Fire  and  Burglar  Proof 
Safes,  for  exhibition,  and  for  use  of  the  Commission. 

Howe  Scale  Company,  Rutland,  Yt. — Improved  Scales  and  Weighing  Machines. 

Johnston  Harvester  Company,  Brockport,  N.  Y. — Mowers  and  Reapers;  Combined 
Machines;  and  Grain  Binder. 

Lalance  &  Grosjean  Manufacturing  Company,  New  York  City. _ 

Culinary  Utensils  made  of  Agate  Iron  (the  metal  being  coated  with  an  abso¬ 
lutely  pure  and  safe  enamel :  cannot  break  or  rust  in  ordinary  use) ;  Planished 
Tin  (brilliant  and  durable  lustre  obtained  by  the  use  of  highly-polished  steel 
hammers  and  rolls,  and  by  sufficient  labor  to  thoroughly  close  the  pores  of 
the  metal);  Tinned  and  Polished  Iron,  Copper,  Brass,  &c.;  Planished  Brass 
and  Copper  Wire;  Spoons  and  Forks  heavily  coated  with  pure  Block  Tin, 
Blue  and  White  Enamelled  Ware,  made  like  the  Agate,  and  having  a  pure, 
white  Porcelain  coating  on  the  inside.  Plain  Deep  and  Retinned  Deep 
Stamped  Ware;  Galvanized,  Polished  and  Bright  Iron  Ware.  Tinned  and  Ja¬ 
panned  Hotel  Ware;  also,  Toys  of  various  styles  and  shapes.  [In  addition  to 
the  present  award,  have  received,  among  others,  wherever  exhibited,  the 
highest  awards  at  the  1876  Philadelphia  Centennial,  and  at  the  1877  Sydney 
Intercolonial  Exhibitions .  ] 

Larrabee,  E.  J.  «&  Co.,  Albany,  N.  Y. — Plain  and  Fancy  Biscuits  and  Cakes, 
400  varieties. — [In  addition  to  the  Gold  Medal  at  this  Exposition,  here  noted. 
Silver  Medals  at  State  Fair,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  1S73,  and  American  Institute  Fair, 
New  York,  1874;  also  Bronze  Medal  at  Centennial  Exhibition,  Philadelphia, 
1876.] 

Libby,  McNeal  &  Libby,  Chicago,  HI.—- Canned  Meats. 


360 


PARIS  IN  78. 


liippit&cott,  Jt  15.  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Text  Books  for  Elementary  and 
Secondary  Instruction,  52  vols.  Set  of  Cutler’s  Anatomical  Charts.  Miscella¬ 
neous  Books. 

McCormick,  Richard  C. — [American  Commissioner  General.] — Collective 
Educational  Exhibit. 

Mail  lard,  Henry,  New  York  City. — Chocolate  and  Confectionery.  Chocolate 
Statues  representing  the  four  parts  of  the  world,  made  by  a  new  process, 
weighing  one  hundred  pounds  each.  Five  Medicis  Yases,  made  of  solid 
Chocolate,  weighing  180  pounds  each.  Album,  entitled  “  Voyage  dans  File  des 
Plaisirs,”  containing  3,000  different  styles  of  Bonbons  and  Fancy  Chocolates. 

Mallory,  Wheeler  &  Co.,  New  Haven,  Conn. — Reversible  Door  Locks,  WTrouglit  Iron 
Padlocks,  Door  Knobs  and  Handles  in  Mineral,  Porcelain  and  Bronze. 

Marcotte,  1L.  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Furniture.  [Manufacturers  of  Cabinet 
Furniture;  Looking-Glass  Frames  and  Plates;  Gas  Fixtures ;  Bronzes;  Porcelain 
and  Faience  Plates  and  Yases;  Curtain  Materials  and  Chair  Coverings;  Fine 
Upholstery;  Interior  Painting  and  Decoration  ;  Papier  Mache  Ornaments  for 
Ceilings  and  Walls;  French  and  English  Paper  Hangings;  Hardwood  Trim¬ 
mings  for  Doors  and  Mantels;  French  Moquette  and  Aubusson  Carpets;  Sole 
Agency  for  Carpets  of  the  Royal  Manufactory  of  Holland.] 

Mason  <&  Hamlira  Organ  C o an p any.  New  York  City. — Cabinet  Organs  and 
Harmoniums.  Two  Medals.  [Inventors  and  original  manufacturers  of  the 
American  Cabinet  or  Parlor  Organ,  widely  adopted  in  Europe.  Excellent 
character  of  these  Instruments  has  won  highest  honors  at  every  World’s  Ex¬ 
hibition  for  thirteen  years .  ] 

Nashua  Manufacturing  Company,  Nashua,  N.  H. — Unbleached  or  Gray  Cotton 
Cloths  and  Flannels. 

Naval  Academy  of  the  United  States,  Annapolis,  Md. — Publications,  Catalogues  aad 
Views. 

New  York  Consolidated  Card  Co.,  New  York  City. — Playing  Cards. 

Ohio  State  Department  Public  Instruction,  Columbus,  O. — Reports  and  Documents. 

Oregon  State  Commission,  Portland,  Oregon. — Extensive  Agricultural  Exhibit. 

Osborne,  D.  M.,  Manufacturing  Co.,  Auburn,  N.  Y. — Mowing  and  Reaping  Machines. 

Philadelphia  and  Reading  Coal  &  Iron  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Anthracite  Coal. 

Pkcenix  Card  and  Paper  Co.,  New  York  City. — Fine  Paper;  Card  Board; 
Cut  Cards;  Shipping  Tags  and  Ruled  Matter,  for  Printers  and  Stationers. 

Pratt  &  WJi.its8.ey  Co.,  The,  Hartford,  Conn.— Gardner  Machine  Gun. 

Providence  Tool  Company,  Providence,  R.  I. — “  Peabody-Martini  ”  Breech¬ 
loading  Military  and  Sporting  Rifles,  and  their  i^arls.  The  Military  Rifles 
used  by  England,  Turkey,  Roumania,  China,  America  and  other  countries. 
(Also,  Silver  Medal.) 

Heed,  iIoSibi  Vasa.  I>.,  New  York  City. — Canvas  Hose,  and  Circular  Loom. 
(Received  also  the  decoration  of  Legion  of  Honor.)  [Mr.  Reed  is  Inventor  and 
Patentee  of  the  Circular  Loom,  for  weaving  Multiple-fabric  Fire  Kcse,  as  man¬ 
ufactured  by  the  Eureka  Fire-Hose  Company— a  seamless  fabric  of  cotton, 
treble-web  or  three-ply  (weighing  50  pounds  per  length  of  CO  feet),  rubber 
lined,  the  result  of  many  years  labor,  and  involving  a  large  expenditure.  This 
Eire  Hose  is  a  perfect  one,  combining  lightness,  great  strength  and  durability- 
and  sufficient  body  (one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness)  to  stand  the  rough 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  AWARDS. 


3G1 


usage  to  which  it  may  be  subjected.  It  is  the  product  of  an  ingeniously- 
constructed  Loom,  consisting  of  no  less  than  6.000  pieces.  The  fabric  pro¬ 
duced  by  it,  has  three  distinct  solid  walls  of  cotton  solidified  together  (In 
addition  to  the  rubber  lining),  so  that  in  case  of  the  one  receiving  any  injury 
the  others  remain  intact.  The  producing  of  Hose  in  this  form  ha3  hitherto 
been  considered  an  impossibility ;  and  the  ingenious  and  complicated  mechan¬ 
ism  by  which  it  has  been  accomplished  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  tri¬ 
umphs  of  modern  invention.] 

Remington,  E.  «$s  Sons,  Hion,  N.  Y. — Breech-loading  Fire-Arms  and  Ammu¬ 
nition.  Pistols,  Shot  Guns,  Hunting  and  Target  Eifles,  and  Ammunition  for 
same.  Military  Bre-ch-loacLing  and  Magazine  Eifles  and  Metallic  Cartridges. 

Reynolds,  A.  J.,  Chicago,  Ill. — Fruit-evaporating  Machine,  and  Evaporated  Fruit. 

Eichardson  &  Bobbins,  Dover,  Del. — Canned  Meats  and  Fruits. 

Russell  &  Erwin  Manufacturing  Co.,  Now  Britain,  Conn.— Builders’ 
and  General  Hardware  ;  Reversible  Door  Lochs,  Padlocks,  Hinges,  lire  Ir  >ns, 
Chisels,  &c.  Artistic  fittings  in  Statuary,  Brouzo,  Nickel,  Gold  anl  Euamel, 
for  Door,  Window  and  Fireplace  Decoration.  (Received  Two  Gold  Medals, 
two  Bronze  Medals,  and  honorable  mention. ) 

Sarony,  Napoleon,  New  York  City. — Photographic  and  Crayon  Portraits  and 
Sketches. 

Schultz,  Soutliwicli  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Sole  Leather. 

Stephenson,  John,  Company  (Limited),  New  Yk.rk  Cf.y — Threo  Tramway 
Cars,  with  all  modern  improvements,  showing  the  progress  of  the  American 
Idea  (street  railways),  from  the  heavy  car  whh  top  scats  f  r  massing  passen¬ 
gers,  to  the  small  coupe  car  for  one  horse  anl  managed  by  one  man — having 
fewer  passengers  and  moving  quickly.  Among  advances  in  Construction,  the 
following :  (1)  The  door  of  small  cars  operate!  by  the  driver.  (2)  Deflector 
above  the  face  of  driver,  showing  mo vemen'.s  of  passengers  (1)  System 
of  signal  bells,  by  which  seated  passengers  can  communicate  v.  h  driver. 
(4)  Powerful  Brakes,  stopping  the  cars  quickly,  without  agitation  (  )  Life¬ 
guards  before  the  wheels,  to  prevent  persons  falling  before  them.  (  ’•)  System 
of  Springs  and  India-rubber  Insulators,  off  rding  ease  of  motion.  (7)  System 
of  Construction  and  Ornamentation,  scouring,  in  (he  highest  degree,  Elegance, 
Eoonomy  and  Durability.  (See  “Announcements.’') 

Striedlinger  &  Doerflinger,  Brooklyn,  N.  Yr — Model  of  Blasting  Apparatus  used  at 
Hell  Gate. 

Swinton,  William,  Cambridge,  Mass. — School  Books  (series), 

Thurtoer,  H.  K.  ami  E.  E.  <&  Co.,  New  York  City.— Edible  Cotton-Seed  Oil; 
CottonSeed;  Cotton-Seed  Oil  for  lubricating  purposes.  Canned  Meats,  Fish, 
Fruits  and  Vegetables  Sugar,  and  Syrups,  made  from  Maize  (  torn) ;  Oats  and 
Oatmeal;  Eye  and  Eye  Flour;  Hominy, Com  and  Corn  Med;  Earley ;  Wheat 
and  Cracked  Wheat;  Wheat  Flour;  Wax  and  Honey,  fi  medals.) 

Tiffa  ny  A  <  o.,  New  York  City — (See  Grand  Prizes.) 

Type-Writer  Company,  New  York  City. — Six  '■  Type- Writers  "  lor  printing  Corre¬ 
spondence. 

Enit*-cl  States  Department  of  Asrrie»l''ure,  Washington,  D.  C. — 
Collection  of  Fibres  and  Materials  employed  in  the  Manufacture  of  t goer. 
Collection  of  Vegetable  Fibres  employed  iu  the  Manufacture  of  To.w  'io  Fabrics 


3C2 


PARIS  IN  78. 


(Cotton,  &c.)  Wools.  Plaster  Casts  of  Fruits  and  Vegetables.  Collection  of 
Insects  injurious  to  the  principal  Crops  of  the  Country.  American  Grains 
and  their  Products.  Essential  Oils.  Specimens  of  Woods  of  Forest  Trees 
(407).  Large  Plank  of  Redwood.  Photographs  of  Useful  and  Ornamental  Trees 
of  America.  Bird  and  Fish  Guano.  South  Carolina  Phosphates.  Dried 
Blood,  &c. 

Wamsutta  Mills,  New  Bedford,  Mass. — Bleached  and  Brown  Shirtings,  Cambrics,  &c. 

Westingliow.se  Air  Brake  Co.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. —Automatic  Brakes  for 
Railway  Cars. 

White,  ganmel  Philadelphia,  Pa — Porcelain  Teeth,  Dental  Engine,  Instru¬ 

ments,  Chairs,  Foils,  and  other  Dental  Goods  and  Apparatus. 

Whiting  Paper  Co.,  Holyoke,  Mass. — Fine  Papers. 

Wilcox,  W.  *J.  Co.,  New  York  City. — Refined  Lards,  Oils  and  Stearine.  (Ca¬ 
pacity  of  Works,  per  year,  450,000  tierces  Lard;  28,000  tierces  Stearine; 
23,000  barrels  Oil.)  [It  i3  notable  that  no  display  made  by  Americans  at  Paris, 
during  the  Exposition  of  1378,  was  more  effective  or  attracted  more  attention 
than  that  of  Messrs.  Wilcox  k  Co.,  who,  additionally,  deserved  and  received 
the  warm  thanks  of  Americans  by  their  tender  of  their  splendid  Pavilion  to 
Gen.  Grant,  on  the  reception  of  the  Ex-President  at  Paris.  Statistically,  it 
should  be  added  that  the  industry  with  which  they  are  connected,  has  few 
equals  in  importance,  the  domestic  consumption  of  Lard,  during  1878,  being 
valued  at  $7,000,000,  and  the  sales  of  Wilcox  &  Co.,  for  exportation,  reaching 
during  the  same  year  $8,000,000.]  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Wilson,  1?.  H*  Co.,  New  York  City. — Corn  Brooms;  Broom-Corn;  Wooden 
Ware;  House-furnishing  Goods. 

Wood,  Walter  A.,  Hoosic  Falls,  New  York. — Harvester  and  Self-Binder;  Self-Rake 
Controllable  Reapers;  One  and  Two  Horse  Grass  Mowing  Machines;  One  and 
Two  Horse  Combined  Mowing  and  Reaping  Machines. 

Vale  IjOcHx  Company,  Stamford,  Conn.,  and  New  York  City. — Post-Office  Lock 
Boxes  ;  Time  and  Bank  Locks  ;  House  and  Cabinet  Locks,  and  Bronze  Hard¬ 
ware.  (Also  Silver  Medal.) 

TAKING  SILVER  MEDALS. 

Adrlan.ce,  Platt  4§J  Co.,  New  York  City. — One  Model  “D”  A.  P.  k  Co.,  Buckeye 
Mower;  one  do.  with  Manual  Delivery;  one  A.  P.  k  Co.  “  Buckeye  ”  Combined 
Mower  and  Self- Raking  Reaper;  one  “  Adriance  ”  Self-Raking  Reaper. 

Aikin,  Lambert  k  Co.,  New  York  City. — Gold  Pens,  Cases,  &c. 

American  Grape  Sugar  Company,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.— Sugar  and  Syrup,  from  Grapes. 

Appleton  Co.,  Lowell,  Mass.— Unbleached  and  Gray  Cotton  Cloths. 

Appleton,  <&  Co.,  New  York  City. — Books.  (See  Gold  Medals.) 

Boeder,  Adamson  k  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.— Glue,  Emery,  Sand-Paper,  Hair,  Moss,  &c. 

Bausch  &  Lomb  Optical  Co.,  New  York  City. — Optical  Instruments:  Eye  Glasses, 
Magnifiers,  Microscopes,  Telescopes,  kc. 

Bay  State  Rake  Company,  Winchendon,  Mass. — Horse  Hay  Rake. 

Bien,  Julius,  New  York  City. — Geographical,  Geological  and  Astronomical  Maps  and 
Atlases.  Lithography  and  Typography.  (2  Medals.) 

Blaike  Cru  her  Co,,  New  Haven,  Conn,— Blake’s  Patent  New  Pattern  Stone  and 
Ore  Crusher. 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS. 


363 


Brill,  J.  G.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Street  Railway  Cars. 

Brown  Caloric  Engine  Co.,  New  York  City. — Improved  Self-Feeding  Caloric 
Engine.  [Notable  for  its  steady  motion  and  compact  construction.  Motor 
adopted  by  the  United  States,  English  and  German  governments  to  operate 
on  Fog  Signals  and  on  Electric  Lights.  Considered  the  most  reliable  and 
effective  power  for  hoisting  and  elevating  and  for  auxiliary  purposes.]  (See 
“Announcements.”) 

Brace,  Geo.,  ?on  Si  Co.,  New  York  City. — Specimen  Book  of  Printing  Types 
and  Press  Pictures. 

Carter,  Dinsmore  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Writing  and  Copying  Inks;  and  Mucilage. 

Centennial  Photograph  Company,  Philadelphia. — Photographs  of  the  Centennial 
Exhibition,  187G. 

Clausen,  Henry  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Bottled  Beer. 

Collencler,  H,  YV.  Si  Co.,  New  York  City. — Billiard  Table,  with  Markers, 
Cue  Racks,  &c . 

Corcoran,  Andrew  .1.,  New  York  City. — Improved  Solid  Wheel  Self-regulat¬ 
ing  Wind  Mill.  [Novel  application  of  wind  as  a  motor,  especially  commented 
upon  by  the  judges  as  combining  great  strength  with  simplicity  and  the  best 
method  of  utilizing  wind  yiower  for  pumping  water  and  driving  machinery.] 

Cowperthwait  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Series  of  Text  Books. 

Darling,  Brown  &  Sharpe,  Providence,  R.  I. — U.  S.  Standard  Rules;  patent  hardened 
Cast  Steel  Try-Squares;  American  Standard  Wire  Gauge;  variety  of  Tools  for 
Accurate  Measurements. 

Delamater,  C.  H.  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — D.  L.  Kennedy’s  Patent  Concentrated 
Power  Shearing  and  Punching  Machines, 

Dougherty,  Andrew,  New  York  City. — Playing  Cards, 

Douglass  Axe  Manufacturing  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Axes,  Hatchets,  &c. 

Erie  Preserving  Co.,  Buffalo,  and  New  York  City.-— Canned  Goods;  Fruits, 
Vegetables,  Jams,  Jellies,  Sausage-Meat,  Roast  Beef  and  Poultry,  all  in  Tins. 

Fairbanks,  E.  and  T.  Si  Co.,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  and  New  York  City.  (See 
Gold  Medals.) 

Fletclier  Manufacturing  C’o.,  Providence,  R.  I. — Boot,  Shoe  and  Corset 
Laces;  Stove,  Torch,  Lamp  and  Fuse  Wicks;  Yarns,  Harness,  Seine  and  Wrap¬ 
ping  Twines.  (Also,  Bronze  Medal . ) 

Gatling  Gun  Company,  Hartford,  Conn. — Gatling  Gun,  on  Tripod;  Ten-Barrel 
1  inch  Gatling  Gun;  Medium  Sized  Gatling  Gun,  on  Field  Carnage.  (See  “An¬ 
nouncements. r) 

Goodyear,  Henry  B, ,  New  York  City. — Machines  for  Making  Boots  and  Shoes. 

Gregg,  William  L.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Brick-making  Machines,  Triple  Pres¬ 
sure  and  Steam  Power  Repressing,  Hand  Power  Presses.  Specimen  Bricks. 
(See  “  Announcements.”) 

Gutekunst,  E.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Artistic  Photographic  Pictures. 

Harper  Si  Brolliers,  New  York  City, — Books.  (See  Gold  Medals.) 

Hosgkt  >n,  II.  O.  Si  Co.,  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. — Miscellaneous 
Books. 

Hongtiton,  Osgood  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Books  and  Periodicals. 

Howe  Scale  Company,  Rutland,  Vt  — Improved  Scales  and  Weighing  Machines. 


364 


PARIS  IN  78. 


Hoyt,  J.  B.  Co.,  New  York  City. — Superior  Oak  Leather  Belting,  including 
large  belts  in  use,  of  excellent  workmanship  and  material,  made  from  selected 
hides  tanned  with  Oak  Bark  by  the  Exhibitors.  Also,  Oak  Sole  Leather. 
[In  addition  to  this  award  received  highest  medals  at  Philadelphia  Centennial 
Exhibition,  1876;  at  Berlin  Exposition,  1877,  and  at  various  other  Industrial 
Exhibitions.!  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Ingersoll  Rock  Drill  Co.,  New  York  City. — The  Ingersoll  “  Eclipse  ”  Rock 
Drill,  for  “simplicity,  speed,  automatic  rotating  and  feed.’’  [Has  but  two 
quick  moving  parts,  the  piston  and  valve.  In  addition  to  the  present  award 
has  received  the  highest  medals  wherever  exhibited.)  (See  “Announcements.’’) 

IvIsoji,  Olaketaaji,  Taylor  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text  Books  for  Ele¬ 
mentary  and  Secondary  Instruction.  Four  Series  of  Copy  Books  and  Spencerian 
Writing  Charts. 

Jenkins,  F.  W.  &  Brother,  New  York  City. — Flour. 

William  S.  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. — Tobacco  and  Cigarettes. 

K.aaimz,  Wm.  F.  &  <  o.,  New  York  (  ity.  Champagne  Lager  Beer,  put  up  in 
bottles,  especially  for  the  tropical  climates. 

Lea,  Henry  C.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — medical  Text-Books,  37  vols. 

Lincoln  I>.  F  ,  Boston,  Mass. — Collection  of  Works  on  Health  of  Schools. 

Lobdell  Car  Wheel  Co  ,  Wilmington,  Del.  Cast  Chilled  Iron  Car  Wheels;  Cast  Chilled 
Iron  Rolls  for  Calendering  Paper.  (3  Medals.) 

MacKellar,  Smiths  &  Jordan,  Philadelphia. — Specimen  Book  of  Printing  Types ; 
Types,  Borders  and  Rules. 

National  Rubber  Co„  Bristol,  R.  I  — Rubber  Goods. 

New  Haven  Wheel  Company,  New  Haven,  Conn. — Carriage,  Cart,  Wagon  and  Truck 
Wheels,  and  Wheel  Material  of  American  Woods. 

Northampton  Emery  Wheel  Co.,  Leeds,  Mass. — Emery  Wheels,  Patent  Solid;  and 
Emery  Wheel  Machinery. 

Open  stove  Venliisatiaiig  C c&mrcpn siy,  New  York  City.  —  “Fire  on  the 
Hearth,”  Combination  of  an  Open  Fire,  Close  Stove,  and  Warm-air  Furnace. 

Osborne,  C,  S.  &  Co.,  Newark,  N,  J. — Saddlers’  and  Harness-Makers'  Tools. 

Paieii,  Gforge  &  (  o  ,  New  York  City, — Hemlock  Tanned  Leather,  especially 
for  Export  Trade  Also  Hides  and  Oils.  [The  award  to  this  house  was  made  espe¬ 
cially  in  recognition  of  certain  characteristics  rendering  all  leather  shipped 
abroad,  esj)ecially  desirable,  in  solidity,  color  and  finish.  In  addition  to  this 
award,  has  x*eceived  “Lee”  Gold  Medal  at  American  Institute  Fair,  1874,  and 
other  equally  flattering  testimonials.]  (See  “  Announcements.”) 

Pern-y,  F.  II.,  Providence,  R.  I. — Preserved  Fruits. 

Pltii  delpUiaCo  legeof  Fha  mi*cy,  Philadelphia. — Collection  of  American 

Drugs. 

Fiiiludelphia,  a  <1  He1**!  i  bus?  t  Hiboad  Co^pnity,  Philadelphia. — 

American  Locomotive,  adapted  for  the  use  of  Anthracite  Coal.  General  De¬ 
scription  : — Approximate  weight  o  Engine,  83, 7G2  lbs,;  approximate  weight 
of  Tank,  empty,  22,.:00  lbs.;  diameter  of  Drivers.  51  inches  Journals,  6>a 
inches;  life  of  Steel  Tire,  17.”  000  miles;  life  of  <  ast  iron  Tiro,  27,000  miles;  di¬ 
ameter  of  Truckwheel  30  inches;  life  of  Truckwheel  50  000  miles;  side-rod 
Brasses  run  30  000  mile  ;;  Cylin  ’es,  13  by  21  inches;  Roller-Valves  (Bristol's 
Patent),  30  000  miles;  L^p  j  inch  Leal  1-16  inch  Full  Throw  inches; 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS. 


365 


Steam  Pipe  in  Boiler,  4  inches,  S.  B.  4%;  Exhaust,  4  to  5  inches;  Boiler  46 
inches  diameter,  100  Flues  2  inches  diameter,  10  feet  2  inches  long;  Boiler 
largest  diameter  54  inches;  Heating  Surface  in  Flues  850  square  feet;  life  of 
Iron  Flues,  123,000  miles;  Total  Heating  Surface,  967  square  feet;  Fire  Box, 
inner  side  sheets  Lf-inch.  thick,  good  for  129,000  miles;  Crown  Sheet  Iron  5-16 
inche,  outside  Water  Grate  Bars  2  inches  outside,  inside,  2\. 

clearance,  4^  fall;  will  last  as  long  as  Fire-Box;  Grate  Area,  64  square  feet; 
Fire  Box  8%  by  7>£  feet;  Boiler  Iron  ?8'  and  inch  double  riveted;  Water 
Space,  3yz  inches;  Smoke  Box  31  inches  long  from  flue  sheet,  Stack  20>£  inches 
inside;  Spark  Arrester,  Corrugated  Iron  )8-inch  thick  at  bottom,  1-lGincliat 
top;  Pump  3^  by  11  inches;  Grate  Bars  3-16  and  9-13  inch  space;  168  bars. 

Prang,  L.  k  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Books,  Chromos  and  Lithographs. 

Pullman  Palace  Car  Company,  Chicago,  III.— Model  Palace  Sleeping-Car;  Full-Size 
Palace  Sleeping-Car. 

Itathbone,  Sard  k  Co.,  Albany,  N.  Y. — Stoves  and  Ranges. 

iiubber-^iisliioned  Axle  Company,  New  York  City.— Axles  and  Wheels, 
the  latter  fitted  with  the  Rubber-Cushioned  Axle,  ensuring  Safe  and  Easy 
Riding,  Increased  Speed,  also  Great  Economy  in  wear  and  tear.  [Approved 
and  used  by  Leading  Builders  in  the  United  States  and  Europe,  where  this 
Axle  is  protected  by  letters  patent.  Has  also  received  Medals  at  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  Centennial  and  other  prominent  Exhibitions.] 

St.  Louis  Beef  Canning  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. — Canned  Meats. 

Scriboer,  Armstrong  A*  Co.,  Hew  York  City. — Text-Books  for  Elementary 
and  Secondary  Instruction  (27  vols.)  Set  of  Drawing-Cards.  Miscellaneous 
Books.  Maps. 

Sharp’s  Rifle  Company,  Bridgeport,  Conn.— Breech-loading  Military  and  Sporting 
Rifles. 

Stow  Flexible  Sluift  Company,  Philadelphia. — Flexible  Shafts  with  Drill 
Presses. 

Thomas,  Seth,  Clock  Company,  New  York  City. — Tower  Church,  House  and  Marine 
Clocks. 

Thompson,  Brown  «$£  C’o.,  Boston,  Mass. — Eaton  &  Bradbury’s  Series  of 
Mathematics. 

Tilt,  B.  B.  k  Son,  Paterson,  N.  J. — Jacquard  Power  Silk  Loom. 

Tobin,  Josepli  F.,  New  York  City. — Manufactured  Whalebone.  [In  addition 
to  this,  the  highest  award  ;  received  the  only  one  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition 
of  1876,  for  “accuracy  in  shape  and  form,”  “excellence  in  preparing  the 
Whalebones  for  all  purposes  intended,”  and  “perfect  workmanship  of  pro¬ 
ducts.”} 

Valentine  Co.,  New  York  City. — Coach  Varnishes.  (See  “Announcements  ”) 

Whitman,  Stephen  F.,  Philadelphia. — Chocolate  and  Confections. 

Whitney,  A.  &  Sons,  Philadelphia. — Car  Wheels. 

Wiiey,  Jolm,  &  Sons,  New  York  City.— Text  Books  for  Schools,  Colleges, 
Agricultural  Colleges,  Polytechnic  Institutions,  &c.,  &c.,  on  Agriculture,  Assay¬ 
ing,  Astronomy,  Bridges,  Bookkeeping,  Chemistry,  Drawing  and  Painting, 
Engineering,  Metallurgy,  Mechanics,  Mineralogy,  Resistance  of  Materials, 
Ship  building.  Steam-engine,  Ventilation,  Weights  and  Measures,  «hc. 

Willimantic  Linen  Company,  Hartford,  Conn. — Spool  Cotton. 


368 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Yule  Look  Company,  Stamford,  Conn.  (See  Gold  Medals.) 

Young,  Tliayer  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass.— Hemlock  Bark  Extract  Manufactures. 

TAKING  BRONZE  MEDALS. 

Abbey,  Clias.  &  Sons,  Philadelphia. — Dentists’  Fine  Gold  Foil. 

Allen,  John  &  Sons,  New  York  City.— Artificial  Dentures. 

Allendale  Co.,  Providence,  B.  L — Bleached  and  Brown  Cotton  Goods  ;  Wide 
Sheetings;  Quilts,  &c. 

American  Printing  House  for  the  Blind,  Louisville,  Ky. — Raised  and 
Dissected  Map  of  the  United  States.  Publications  in  three  styles  of  type,  59 
volumes.  Spelling  and  Composition  Frame.  Writing  Guides  for  the  Pencil. 
Apparatus  illustrating  new  Methods  of  Making  Stereotype  Plates. 

American  Wine  Co  ,  St.  Louis,  Mo. — Champagnes. 

Ames,  Oliver  &  Sons,  North  Easton,  Mass. — Shovels,  Spades,  &c. 

Ansonia  Clock  Co.,  Ansonia,  Conn. — Clocks  and  Movements. 

Asher  and  Adams,  New  York  City. — Map  of  the  United  States;  and  Pictorial 
Album  of  American  Industry.  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Auburn  Manufacturing  Co.,  Auburn,  N.  Y. — Agricultural  Hand  Implements  :  Forks, 
Hoes,  Rakes,  &c. 

Barnes,  A.  S.  •&  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text-Books  for  Elementary  and  Secondary 
Instruction  (156  vols.)  Miscellaneous  Books.  The  “  International  Review.” 

Biehnell,  T.  W.,  Boston,  Mass. — National  and  New  England  Journals  of  Educa¬ 
tion. 

Bienville  Oil  Works,  New  Orleans,  La. — Cotton  Seed  Products. 

Blateltley,  Clias.  G.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — The  Patent  Horizontal  Ice  Cream 
Freezer.  [Has  received  the  highest  award  wherever  exhibited.  Silver  Medal, 
Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia,  1874.  “Diploma  de  Co-operacion,”  Inter¬ 
national  Exhibition,  Santiago  de  Chile,  1875.  Medal  and  Diploma,  Centennial 
Exhibition,  Philadelphia,  1876.] 

Bolen  &  Byrne,  New  York  City. — Mineral  Waters  and  Appliances.  Syphons, 
and  Aerated  Beverages. 

Brown,  A.  &  F.,  New  York  City — Siren', ’with  Fog  Trumpet  (for  Nautical  Use 
and  Warning). 

Brown,  B.  F.  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. — Shoe  Dressings;  Army  and  Navy  Black¬ 
ings;  Satin  Polish;  French  Dressings,  and  all  Fine  Preparations  for  Leather. 
(See  “Announcements.”) 

Campbell,  Hall  &  Co.,  New  lrork  City. — National  Safety  Paper,  incapable  of 
Alteration,  for  Checks  and  Important  Documents.  [The  only  sure  protection 
against  loss  by  fraudulent  alterations,  to  be  used  for  Checks,  Drafts,  Notes, 
Exchanges,  Certificates  of  Deposit,  Stock  Certificates,  Railroad  Bonds,  Legal 
Documents,  and  all  written  evidences  of  value.] 

Clark  &  Maynard,  New  York  City. — Anderson  s  Series  of  School  Histories;  and  various 
other  Educational  Text-Books. 

ColFa  Patent  Fire-Arms  Company,  Hartford,  Conn — Guns  and  Pistols. 

Cortland  Wagon  Manufacturing  Co.,  Cortland,  N.  Y.,  and  New  York  City. — Platform 
Spring  Wagons,  for  Pleasure  or  Business  Use. 

Datigliatlay,  <J.  W .  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — The  “  Model  ”  Job  Printing 
Press:  hand,  foot  and  steam  power ;  for  Fine  Job  Work  and  General  Mer¬ 
cantile  Printing. 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS. 


367 


Demorest,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jennings,  New  York  City — Fashion  Plates  and  Drees 
Models. 

Douglas  Axe  Manufacturing  Co.,  Boston. — Axes,  &c.  (See  Silver  Medals  ) 

Dixon,  Joseph,  Crucible  Co.,  Jersey  City,  N.  J. — Lumber  Pencils,  Plumbago,  &c.  (See 
Gold  Medals.) 

Doremus,  Peter  C.,  New  York  City. — Automatic  Sofa,  Spring-bed  and  Lounge. 

Dorman  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  York  City. — Ja-se-po-ri  Ware  of  Bamboo  (Oriental 
Designs). 

Donnell  Manufacturing  Co.,  Pawtucket,  R.  I  — Printed  calicoes. 

Fairbanks,  E.  and  T.  <&  Co.,  St.  Johnsbury,  Yt. — Railway  Track  Scales.  (See 
Gold  and  Silver  Medals.) 

Fall  Mountain  Paper  Co.,  Bellows  Falls,  Yt. — News,  Printing  and  Double  Manila 
Papers. 

Fletcher  Manufacturing  Co.,  Providence,  R.  I.  (See  Silver  Medals.) 

Fritzsche  Brothers,  New  York  City. — Essential  Oils . 

Funck,  Joseph,  Staten  Island,  N.  Y. — Light-house  and  Domestic  Lamps. 

Gaily,  Merritt,  New  York  City. — Power  Printing  and  Embossing  Presses. 

Gebbie  &  Barrie,  Philadelphia. — Books  and  Publications. 

Gubelman,  Theodore,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  Photographic  Portraits  ;  Specialty. 
Permanent  Crayon,  without  Chemical  Base. 

Hance  Brothers  &  White,  Philadelphia. — Chemical  and  Pharmaceutical  Preparations . 

Hartmann,  Peter,  New  York  City. — Filigree  Silver  Jewelry.  (7vTire  Work,  of 
Egyptian  Origin.)  [A  beautiful  variety  of  personal  ornaments,  embracing 
Bridal  Wreaths,  Necklaces,  Brooches,  Ear-rings,  Crosses,  Bracelets,  Ilair  Orna¬ 
ments,  Flower  Sprays,  Hair  Pins,  Combs,  Laurel  and  Oak  Wreaths,  Bouquet 
Holders,  Card  Cases,  Baskets,  Epergnes,  &c.  These  goods  are  made  with  a  view 
to  their  being  refinished  and  made  equal  to  new,  whenever  soiled,  and  with¬ 
out  any  injury  .being  done  to  the  article,  however  often  the  operation  may  be 
repeated :  a  quality  specially  commending  these  goods  to  the  attention  of 
ladies.] 

Holt,  Henry  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text-Books  for  Elementary  and  Secondary 
Instruction  (67  vols.)  Miscellaneous  Books . 

Howe  Scale  Co.,  Rutland,  Yt. — Scales  and  Weighing  Machines.  (See  Gold  Medals.) 

Hoyt,  A.  C.,  New  York  City. — American  Printing  Inks  of  every  known  shade. 
[Above  award  for  Superior  Body,  Unequalled  Distributing  Qualities,  Brilliancy 
and  Purity  of  Color.]  (See  “  Announcements.”) 

Ivers,  F.,  North  Cambridge,  Mass. — The  “  Ivers  Buggy  ”  (American  Carriage  for 
light  driving).  [Claims  perfection  of  workmanship,  and  great  durability  of 
materials.  Specialty  of  manufactures  for  foreign  markets,  in  all  styles  appro¬ 
priate.] 

Justice,  Pin  Slip  Syng,  Philadelphia,  Pa. — Iron  and  Steel  from  the  Ores  direct, 
without  blast-furnace  operations .  [Invention  of  Chas .  Meredith  DuPuy,  C .  E .  J 

Libby,  James  L.,  New  York  City. — Paper  Collars  and  Cuffs  ;  and  Cloth-faced  Paper 
Collars  and  Cuffs. 

Lippincott,  J.  B.  &  Co.,  Philadelphia,  Pa . — Text-Books  for  Elementary  and  Sec¬ 
ondary  Instruction. 

Lovell,  Job  si  P.  &  Sons,  Boston,  Mass. — Revolvers,  Single  Pistols,  Air  Rifles 
and  Air  Pistols. 


368 


PARIS  IN  ’78. 


Mason,  Volney  W.  &  Co.,  Providence,  R.  I. — “Friction  Clutch  Pulleys”; 
Hoisting  Machinery  and  Elevators. 

Massey,  Wm.  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. — Brewers  of  Ales,  Porters  and  Brown  Stout, 
for  home  and  foreign  consumption. 

Matthews,  John,  New  York  City. — Soda  Water  Apparatus,  for  dispensing  Pure 
Soda  Water  ;  Marble  and  Steel  Portable  Fountains  for  the  transportation  of 
Aerated  Beverages  ;  Fountains  of  Steel  and  Iron  ;  Inventions  and  Processes  for 
the  Manufacture  and  Dispensing  of  the  same,  as  used  universally  in  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Cities  and  over  much  of  Europe.  (See  “  Announcements.”) 

Mc.Kenney,  E.  F.  &  F.  L.,  Marengo,  Ill. — Preserved  Fruits. 

McKesson  &  Eobbius,  New  York  City. — American  Crude  Drugs  and  Essential 
Oils,  comprising  their  entire  exhibit — every  article  being  indigenous  to  the 
United  states.  [This  line  was  especially  adapted  for  the  export  trade  to  Eu¬ 
rope,  Central  and  South  America,  West  Indies  and  Australia.  In  addition  to 
honors  here  received,  have  taken  two  first  medals  of  merit  at  Exhibitions 
at  Vienna,  1873,  and  Philadelphia,  1876,  for  excellence  of  pharmaceutical  pre¬ 
parations.]  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Merriam,  G.  &  C.,  Springfield,  Mass . — Webster's  Dictionaries. 

Meyer,  Conrad  &  Sons,  Philadelphia. — Pianofortes.  [Grand,  Upright  and 
Square  Pianos.  Oldest  Piano  Manufactory  in  the  United  States.  Inventors  of 
Full  Iron  Plate  Frame  for  Pianos,  1832.] 

Morris  WSieeler  &  Co.,  Philadelphia, — Sample  card  of  Cut  Nails,  all  varieties. 

Morton,  James,  New  Yorfi  City. — Gold  Pens  and  Pencils. 

National  Rubber  Co.,  Bristol,  R.  I.— Rubber  Goods. 

New  England  Granite  Works,  Hartford,  Conn.  — Vase  of  Polished 
“Westerly”  Granite.  Three  cubes  of  Granite .  (2  Medals.) 

New  York  Silicate  Book  Slate  Co.,  New  York  City. — Silicate  Book  Slates;  Liquid 
Slating  ;  Silicate  Blackboard  Cloth  ;  Slated  Paper . 

Ohio  Tool  Company,  Columbus,  Ohio. — Carpenters’  HandTools. 

Ott  &  Brewer,  Trenton,  N.  J. — White  and  Colored  Vases,  Busts,  &c.,  in  true 
Porcelain . 

Packer,  CIsas.  W.,  Philadelphia. — Ice  Cream  Freezers.  [The  “Standard” 
Patent  Ice-Cream  Freezers.  Medals  and  Diplomas  awarded  by  Mass.  Chari¬ 
table  Mechanic  Association,  Boston,  1865,  1869, 1S74.  Indiana  State  Board  of 
Agriculture,  1871.  Cincinnati  Industrial  Exposition,  1874.  franklin  Insti¬ 
tute,  Philadelphia,  1874.  Exposition  International  de  Chile,  1875.  Interna¬ 
tional  Exhibition.  Philadelphia,  1876.  Paris  Exposition,  1878.] 

Putt  berg,  Lewi;  &  Bro.,  New  l’ork  City, — Fancy  Picture  Frames,  combined 
of  velvet,  satin  and  metal ;  Toilet  Mirrors  ;  fine  Leather  Goods  ;  Metal  Grapho- 
scopes  ;  and  Fancy  Goods  of  great  variety. 

Pennsylvannia  File  Works  (McCaffrey  &  Bro.)  Philadelphia. — Files  and  Rasps. 

Pickering,  T.  It.  &  Co.,  Portland,  Conn. — Steam-Engine  Governors  with  Im¬ 
proved  Automatic  Stop  Motion  ;  and  Speed  Adjuster.  For  use  of  Commission 
on  Engines,  in  U.  S.  Section. 

Plummer,  M.,  Portland,  Oregon. — Dried  Fruits  and  Vegetables. 

Porter  &  Mowbray,  Winona,  Minn. — Flour. 

Pretty,  Grime  &  Co.,  Philadelphia. — Gray  and  Mourning  Prints. 

Publishers’  Weekly  (F.  Leypoldt),  New  York  City. — Book  Trade  Journal :  Biblio¬ 
graphical  Publications. 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS.  369 


Rauchfuss,  G.,  New  York  City. —Wigs,  Toupees  and  Hair  Work. 

Reynolds,  A.  J.,  Chicago,  Ill. — Fruit  Evaporating  Machine,  and  Evaporated  Fruit. 

Russell  &  Erwin  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  Britain,  Conn. — Builders’, 
Cabinet  and  General  Hardware.  (See  Gold  Medals.) 

Sabin,  J.  &  Sons,  New  York  City. — Dictionary  of  American  Books.  (A-  H.)  9 
volumes. 

Sadlier,  W.  H.,  New  York  City.  Superior  Text-Books  for  Catholic  Education, 
consisting  of  Spellers,  Readers,  Geographies,  Histories,  Maps  and  Map  Draw¬ 
ings,  Geographical  Charts. 

Scribner,  Armstrong  Co.,  New  York  City. — Books  and  Maps.  2  medals. 
(See  Silver  Medals . ) 

Scribner  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Periodicals  ;  Scribner' s Monthly  Illustrated  Maga¬ 
zine,  conducted  byJ.  G.  Holland  :  and  St.  Nicholas,  an  Illustrated  magazine 
for  Girls  and  Boys,  edited  by  Mary  Mapes  Dodge.  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Seefeldt,  Wm.  F.,  Philadelphia. — Band  Instruments. 

Semple,  Samuel  &  Sons,  Mount  Holly,  N.  J. — Spool  Cotton. 

Shoninger,  B.,  Piano  and  Organ  Co.,  New  Haven,  Conn. — Universal, 
Upright  Boudoir  Pianofortes.  Universal,  Cymbella,  Orchestral  and  Chapel 
Organs.  [Established,  1850.  Highest  honors  at  the  Centennial  Exhibition  of 
1876,  at  Philadelphia,  and  Exposition  Universelle,  at  Paris,  1878,  as  here  noted. 
First  Premiums  at  New  England  and  other  Fairs.] 

Shriver,  T.  &  Co.,  New  York  City.  Copying  Presses,  such  as  are  used  by  Rail¬ 
way,  Transportation  and  Express  Companies,  and  in  offices  generally,  for  Way 
Bills,  Manifests,  Letters,  &c.  [Also  on  Exhibition,  Iron  Plates  for  Grand, 
Square  and  Upright  Pianos.  J  (See  “  Announcements.”) 

Slote,  Woodman  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Blank  and  Scrap  Books. 

Stanley  Rule  and  Level  Company.,  New  Britain,  Conn.,  and  New  York 
City. — Boxwood  and  Ivory  Rules,  Plumbs  and  Levels,  Try-Squares,  Bevels, 
Gauges,  Mallets,  Screw  Drivers  and  other  Improved  Carpenters’  Tools,  in¬ 
cluding  Bailey’s  Patent  Adjustable  Planes  [of  which  latter,  over  200,000  are 
reported  to  be  already  in  use]. 

Steams,  John  N.  &  Co.,  New  York  City . —Manufactured  Silk. 

Steiger,  E.,  New  York  City. — Encyclopaedia  of  Education  ;  Text  Books,  and  Appar¬ 
atus  for  Primary  and  Secondary  Instruction  ;  Kindergarten  Materials  and 
Globes . 

Stoddart,  John  W.  &  Co.,  Dayton,  Ohio. — Self-Operating  Hay  Rake,  Grain  Drill  and 
Broadcast  seeder. 

Taylor  Manufacturing  Co.,  Westminster,  Md. — Three  Agricultural  Engines, 
10, 10  and  20  horse-power  ;  Empire  Threshing  Machine  ;  Two  Engines  for  Use 
of  Commission  ;  Model  of  Clipper  Engine. 

Tilden,  William,  &  Stokes,  New  York  City. — Varnishes,  especially  manu¬ 
factured  for  Inside  and  Outside  Work,  on  Carriages,  Railway  Cars  and  Loco¬ 
motives.  Also  Japans  and  Varnishes  for  Furniture,  Pianos  and  General 
Purposes.  (See  “Announcements.”) 

Tower,  John  «T.,  New  York  City. — Iron  Planes,  Wrenches,  Padlocks,  &c. 

Underwood  Belting  Co.,  Tolland,  Conn. — Belts  for  Commission.  Two  Medals. 

XJrbana  Wine  Co.,  Hammondsport,  N.  Y.,  and  New  York  City. — American 
Sparkling  Wines.  (Champagnes,  Sweet  and  Dry  Catawbas,  Ports,  Sherries, 


870 


pahi&  nsr  ’78. 


Brandies,  &c.)  [In  addition,  had  First  Grand  Prize,  Diploma,  “Gold  Seal" 
and  “  Imperial,”  Vienna  Exhibition,  1873  ;  Two  Medals  and  Two  Diplomas, 
“  Gold  Seal  ”  and  “  Gold  Seal  Extra  Dry,”  Philadelphia,  1876  ]  (See  “  Announce¬ 
ments.) 

Van  Nostrand,  D.,New  York  City. — Scientific  and  Technological  Publications. 

Warner  Brothers,  New  York  City. — Patent  Corsets. 

AVlieeler  &  Meliclx  Company,  Albany,  N.  Y.— Patent  Sulkey  Rakes  ;  Horse 
Powers,  for  One  or  More  Horses  ;  Threshing  Machines,  self-cleaning  ;  Horse 
Harrows  and  Forks  ;  Shingle  Machines  ;  Ploughs,  &c.  [Silver  Medals  from 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  State  Fairs  ;  also  Vienna  and  Philadelphia 
Centennial  Expositions.] 

Wlieeler  <&  Wilson  Manufacturing  Co.,  New  York  City. — Cabinet  Work, 
Embroidery,  &c.  Three  Medals.  (See  Grand  Prizes . ) 

IViley,  John  &  Sons,  New  York  City.  (See  Silver  Medals.) 

Zell,  T.  Elwood,  Davis  Co.,  Philadelphia. — General  Cyclopaedia. 

RECEIVING  HONORABLE  MENTION. 

Allen,  R.  H.  &  Co.,  New  York  City. — Warehouse  Trucks,  for  use  of  Commission . 

Aslicr  &  Adams,  New  York  City. — Map  of  the  United  States.  (See  Bronze  Medals.) 

Aultman,  B.  &  Co.,  Canton,  Ohio. — Agricultural  Machines. 

Bulltley,  Dunton  Co.,  New  York  City. — Blotting  Paper. 

Claxton,  Remsen  &  Haffelfinger,  Philadelphia. — Scientific  Text-Books. 

Cleveland  Paper-Box  Machine  Co.,  New  York  City. — Paper  Boxes. 

Davis,  J.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. — The  Davis  Elevating  Telescopic  Signal. 

Day,  Austin  G.,  New  York  City. — Kerite  Insulated  Telegraph  Wire. 

Edson,  Mannoat  B.,  New  York  City. — “  Edson’s  Automatic  Recording  Pressure 
Gauge,”  combined  with  “Electrical  and  Mechanical  Alarm  Apparatus,” 
adapted  to  Steam,  Oil,  Water,  &c. ,  under  Pressure,  in  Boilers,  Reservoirs, 
Pipes,  &c.  [Gives  dial  indications  and  accurate  diagrams  of  all  pressure,  and 
fluctuations,  upon  Graduated  Charts,  the  horizontal  lines  being  a  scale  of 
pressures,  and  the  vertical  lines  a  scale  of  hours — the  safety  alarm  gongs  being 
sounded  whenever  any  specified  limit  is  exceeded.  Adopted  by  the  United 
States  Centennial  Commissioners,  during  trials  of  boilers,  as  standard  of 
pressure.] 

El  dr  edge  &  Brother,  Philadelphia. — Text-Books  for  Instruction. 

Ervien,  Charles  W. ,  Philadelphia. — Horizontal  and  Vertical  Non-condensing  Steam- 
Engine,  for  use  of  Commission. 

Exton,  Adam  &  Co.,  Trenton,  N.  J. — Unfermented  Crackers  and  Biscuits. 

Farrington,  Horace  J.,  New  York  City.  —  Furniture.  [Manufacturer  of 
Cottage  Furniture.  A  full  line  of  Queen  Anne,  Eastlake  and  Japanese  styles. 
Specialty  of  Enamelled  and  Knock-Down  Work,  of  varied  and  attractive  De¬ 
signs,  for  Foreign  Markets;  all  manufactured  of  the  very  best  seasoned 
material,  and  finished  in  pure  white  lead  and  best  of  varnishes.] 

Gaff,  Rush  &  Thomas,  Columbus,  Ind. — Corn  and  Meals  in  many  varieties. 

Gay,  Edward  J.  &  Co.,  New  Orleans,  La. — Sugars,  Molasses  and  Syrups. 

Gurney,  J.,  New  York  City. — Colored  and  Enamelled  Photographs. 

Hayes,  Geo.,  New  York  City. — Perforated  Metallic  Blinds. 

Higginson,  T.  Wentworth,  Newport,  R.  I. — “  School  History  of  the  United  States." 


AMERICAN  EXHIBITS  AND  A  WARDS 


371 


Knapp  Dovetailing  Machine  Co.,  Northampton,  Mass. — Machine  for  Dovetailing. 

Lassalle,  Charles,  New  York  City. — Files  of  Courrier  des  Etats  Unis. 

Lee  &  Shepard,  Boston,  Mass. — Text-Books. 

Lippincott,  W.  H.,  Philadelphia — Banner  or  Shield  of  a  variety  of  Native  American 
Woods. 

Messereau,  W.  T.  &  J.,  Newark,  N.  J. — Stair  Rods. 

Moline  Wagon  Co.,  Moline,  Ill. — Farm  Wagon. 

National  Car  Spring  Company,  New  York  City. — The  Yose  Graduated  Car 
Spring,  invented  and  patented  by  Richard  Yose:  arranged  for  Bolster,  Pedestal 
or  Equalizer.  [An  entirely  new  feature  in  Car  Springs, — the  steel  carrying  the 
car  or  light  load,  the  cones  coming  into  requisition  when  the  coil  becomes 
overburdened.  At  no  time,  even  should  the  spring  be  closed,  can  there  be  the 
slightest  friction  of  parts,  as  the  rubber  and  steel  are  never  in  contact.  The 
cushion  being  soft,  the  meeting  of  cones  cannot  be  felt  ] 

Norton,  C.  B.,  New  York  City. — Treasures  of  Art,  Industry  and  Manufactures  at 
the  International  Exhibition,  1876. 

Olmstead,  Fredk.  Law,  New  York  City. — Landscape  Drawings. 

Oscillating  Pump  Co.,  New  York  City. — Force  and  Bilge  Pumps. 

Page,  E.  W.  Si  Son,  New  York  City. — Oars,  Sweeps  and  Sculls,  of  peculiar' 
construction  and  excellence.  [In  addition,  received  highest  award,  wherever 
offered  for  competition  :  at  World’s  Fair,  London,  1851 ;  Paris  Exposition,  1867 ; 
Philadelphia  Centennial  Exhibition,  1876,  &c.,  &c.J  (See  “  Announcement^,’’) 

Peters’  Combination  Lock  Co.,  Waterbury,  Conn. — Combination  Locks. 

Ricketts,  J.  H.,  Newburg,  N.  Y. — Wines. 

Schaffer,  William,  New  Y’ork  City. — Square  Pianoforte. 

Schuttler,  Peter,  Chicago,  Ill. — Farm,  Freight  &  Plantation  Wagons. 

Sheldon  Si  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text-Books. 

Smith's  Horn  oeopatliic  Pharmacy,  New  York  City. — Standard  Homoeopathic 
Preparations.  [Medicines;  Globules  made  of  refined  cane  sugar,  uniform  in 
color  and  size;  pure,  with  sugar,  the  first  made  in  the  United  States;  Tinc¬ 
tures,  made  from  American  Plants;  Compact  Cases  for  family  and  professional 
use;  Alkathrapta,  a  preparation  of  chocolate  made  from  the  Cocoa  bean  with¬ 
out  any  admixture  of  spice  or  flavoring  extract.] 

Tuchfarber,  Frank  &  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio, — Enamelled  and  Porcelain  Finished  Iron 
Show-Cards. 

Underwood,  John,  Hoboken,  N.  J. — Chemical  Safety  Check  Paper. 

Union  Paper  Manufacturing  Co.,  Holyoke,  Mass. — Writing  Paper. 

United  States  Regulation  Fire  Arms  Co.,  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  New  York  City.-^ 
Springfield  Muskets. 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. — Collection  of  Mate4 
rials .  (See  Gold  Medals . ) 

University  Publishing  Co.,  New  York  City. — Text-Books  for  Elementary  and  Secon* 
dary  Instruction .  16vols.  Wall  Map  of  South  America. 

Waterbury  Button  Company,  Waterbury,  Conn. — Buttons,  Metallic,  with  Special 
Designs. 

Winchell,  S.  R.,  Chicago,  Ill. — National  Educational  Weekly.  1877. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS,  AND  INDEX. 


i. 

ii. 

hi. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 
XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 
XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 
XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 
XXVII. 
XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 
XXXI. 

XXXII. 

XXXIII. 


The  Changes  of  Eleven  Years.  ... 
Omens  of  the  French  Exposition  of  1878.  - 

A  Few  Words  of  the  Exposition,  Historically. 
The  Opening  of  the  Exposition,  and  its  Palaces. 
The  Opening  of  the  Exposition,  continued. 

The  Opening  of  the  Exposition,  continued. 

The  Opening  of  the  Exposition,  concluded.  - 
The  Exposition  that  was  Opened.  - 
Paris  of  ’78  and  Paris  of  the  Past.  - 
Over  the  North  Sea  to  Antwerp. 

Antwerp,  History  and  Quentin  Matsys. 

Antwerp,  Cathedral,  Art  and  History. 

Godfrey  de  Bouillon  and  Brussels. 
Aix-la-Chapelle  and  the  Poulliner  Waldchen.  - 
Cologne  and  Cologne  Cathedral. 

Up  the  Rhine — Cologne  to  Coblentz. 

Up  the  Rhine — Coblentz  to  Mayence.  - 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  and  Heidelberg.  - 
A  Pleasant  Hoiror,  at  Munich.  - 
Lindau,  Constance,  and  the  Rhine  Falls.  - 
An  Alpine  Drift,  without  Snow.  - 
Ascending  the  Splugen  Pass.  .... 
The  Via  Mala  and  the  Splugnerberg.  - 
Down  to  the  Italian  Lakes.  .... 
Little  Como  and  Larger  Maggiore. 

Four  Marvels  of  Milan.  ..... 
Venetian  Gondolas,  Views  and  History. 

Around  Venice,  Generally.  .... 
Florence  Art  and  Mild  Brigandage.  - 
Verona,  and  Over  the  Brenner.  ... 
Returning  to  the  Paris  Exposition — the  Trocadero. 
From  and  at  the  Trocadero  Palace. 

In  the  T wo  Exposition  Parks.  .... 


page. 

-  5 
12 

-  18 

25 

-  32 
40 

-  50 
59 

-  70 

79 

-  87 

97 
104 
ii3 
122 
I32 
142 
155 
164 
170 
180 
187 
196 
203 
210 
218 
226 
237 
245 
257 
267 
277 
287 


TABLE  OF  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


XXXIV.  In  the  Vestibule  of  Honor.  -----  295 

XXXV.  The  Facades  of  the  Rue  des  Nations.  -  303 

XXXVI.  Facades,  and  the  City -of- Paris  Pavilion.  -  -  3ll 

XXXVII.  French  Art  at  the  Exposition.  -----  317 

XXXVIII.  Art  of  the  Nations,  Generally.  -  327 

XXXIX.  American  Art,  Solus.  ......  338 

XL.  Features  of  Different  National  Exhibits.  ...  344 

XLI.  Prominent  American  Exhibits  and  Awards.  -  *  353 


TABLE  OF  ANNOUNCEMENTS, 

(Following). 

Banking  Houses. — Brown,  Bros.  &  Co.,  59  Wall  street.  New  York. 

do.  Drexel,  Morgan  &  Co.,  Wall  and  Broad  sts.,  New  York. 

Carpets.  —  Bigelow  Carpet  Company,  100  and  102  Worth  street,  New  York. 

Carriag s  a?id  Road  Wagons. — Brewster  &  Co.,  Broadway,  Forty -seventh 
and  Forty-eighth  streets,  New  York. 

Cars  and  Omnibuses.—  John  Stephenson  Company,  47  East  Twenty -seventh 
street,  New  York. 

Cognac  Brandies. — (De  Forge  &  Co.),  Ives,  Beecher  &  Co.,  98  Front 
street,  New  York. 

Champagne. — (De  Venoge  &  Co.),  Leon  de  Venoge,  37  South  William 
street,  New  York. 

Copying  Presses. — T.  Shriver  &  Co.,  333  East  Fifty-sixth  street,  New  York. 

Drugs  and  Medicines. — McKesson  &  Robbins,  Fulton  and  Ann"  streets, 
New  York. 

Encyclopedia  (Zell's). — B.  W.  Bond,  5  Beekman  street,  New  York. 

Engines  (Brown  Caloric). — A  and  F.  Brown,  57,  59  and  61  Lewis  street, 
New  York. 

Fire  Insurance. — La  Caisse  Generale,  Paris,  and  Pine  street,  New  York. 

do.  La  Confiance  Insurance  Co  ,  Paris,  and  155  Broadway, 

New  York. 

Flax  Threads  (Barbour’s  Irish). — Barbour  Bros.,  134  Chambers  street.  New 
York. 

Furs. — F.  Booss  &  Brother,  449  Broadway  and  26  Mercer  st.,  New  York. 

Gatling  Guns. — Gatling  Gun  Company,  Hartford,  Conn. 

Guide  Books  —  C.  T.  Dillingham,  678  Broadway;  and  H.  Morford,  52 
Broadway,  New  York. 

Gregg  Brick  Machines. — W .  L  Gregg,  115  Broadway,  New  York;  and 
402  Walnut  street,  Philadelphia. 


TABLE  OF  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Hides ,  Leather  and  Oil. — Geo.  Palen  &  Co.,  87  Gold  street,  New  York. 
Lard  and  Lard  Oils. — W.  J.  Wilcox  &  Co.,  Washington,  Greenwich  and 
Vestry  streets,  New  York. 

Leather  and  Beltings. — J.  B.  Hoyt  &  Co.,  28  and  30  Spruce  st.,  New  York. 
Life  Insurance  Companies. — The  Equitable,  120  Broadway,  New  York. 

do.  The  Mutual,  140  to  146  Broadway,  New  York, 

do.  The  United  States,  261  to  263  Broadway,  New 

York. 

Maps  and  Books. — Geo.  II.  Adams  &  Son,  59  Beekman  street,  New  York. 
Novels. — Geo.  W.  Carleton  &  Co.,  Madison  square,  New  York. 

Oars,  Sweeps,  &c. — E.  W.  Page  &  Son,  69  West  street,  New  York. 

Baris  in  '67. — Geo.  W.  Carleton  &  Co.,  Madison  square,  New  York. 

Pens  (Steel). — Jos.  Gillott,  91  John  street,  New  York. 

Pianos.  —  Chickering  &  Sons,  130  Fifth  avenue,  New  York. 

Printing  Inks. — A.  C.  Hoyt,  28  Frankfort  street,  New  York. 

Rock-Drill  (Ingersoll  “Eclipse”).- — I^-Park  place,  New  York. 

Scales. — Fairbanks  &  Co.,  31 1  Broadway,  New  York. 

Sewing  Machines. — Howe  Machine  Company,  2S  Union  square,  New  York, 
do.  Wheeler  &  Wilson  Manufacturing  Company,  44  Four¬ 

teenth  street,  Union  square,  and  Boston. 

Scribner s  Magazines. — Scribner  &  Co.,  743  Broadway,  New  York. 

Shoe  Dressings,  &c. — B.  F.  Brown  &  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Soda  Fountains,  die  — John  Matthews,  First  avenue  and  Twenty-sixth  street, 
New  York. 

Starch  Manufacturing  Co.  (Duryeas’  Glen  Cove). — Wm.  Duryea,  29,  31 
and  33  Park  place,  New  York. 

Steamship  Lines. — Guion  Line,  29  Broadway,  New  York. 

do.  Inman  Line,  31  &  33  Broadway,  New  York, 

do.  National  Line,  69,  71  &  73  Broadway,  New  York. 

Varnishes,  &c. — Edward  Smith  &  Co.,  158  William  street,  New  York. 

do.  Wm.  Tilden  &  Stokes,  corner  of  First  avenue  and  Thirty- 

first  street,  New  York. 

do.  Valentine  &  Co.,  323  Pearl  street,  New  York. 

Wines. — Urbana  Wine  Co.,  Hammondsport,  New  York,  and  New  York 
city. 

Wire  Cables  &c.—  Jno.  A.  Roebling’s  Sons,  117  and  119  Liberty  street, 
New  York. 

Watches,  Jewelry  &c. — Ve  Magnin,  Guedin  &  Co.,  29  Union  square,  New 
York. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 


©KM  ''President. 


PARIS  IN  ’IS.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


PARTS  IS  ’78  —  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


ESTABLISHED,  1S27. 

Edward  Smith  &  Co., 

COACH 


AND 


mC  A  Rcm> 

VARN  IS 

JAPAN  S, 

AND 

MANGANIC  LIQUID  DRYER. 


158  WILLIAM  STREET, 

NEW  YORK. 

CHESTER  HUNTINGTON.  JOHN  A.  ELMENDORF. 


P.  o.  BOX  1780. 


PARIS  IN  ’78. — ANNO  TJNCEMENTS. 


AN  UNBROKEN  RECORD  OF  SUCCESS. 


Fac-Similes  of  Prize  Medals  awarded  the  Messrs,  Duryea. 


DURYEAS’  SATIN  GLOSS  STARCH  gives  a  beautiful,  white,  glossy  and  lasting 
finish. 

DURYEAS’  IMPROVED  CORN  STARCH,  from  the  best  selected  Indian  Corn,  and 
warranted  perfectly  pure. 

DURYEAS’  STARCH  lias  in  every  instance  of  competition  received  the  highest  award. 

WM.  DURYEA,  G-en’l  Agent,  29,  31  &  33  Park  Place,  IT.  Y. 


PA  TtlS  IN  ’78  —ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


PARIS  IN  '78.- ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


Urbana  Wine 

COMPANY, 

njiMMOj^ns<Poit t,  jstjzw  roA/r. 
GrdlcL  Seal 


First  Grand  Prize.— Diploma,  “  Gold  Seal  ”  and  “  Impe¬ 
rial,"  Vienna  World’s  Fair,  1873. 

Highest  Honors. — Two  Medals  and  two  Diplomas,  “  Gold 
Seal  ”  and  “  Gold  Seal  Extra  Dry,”  International 
Exhibition,  Philadelphia,  1876. 

Highest  Honors.  —  Medal,  “Gold  Seal,”  Paris  Exposition, 
1 07S. 


THE 


AMERICAN  CHAMPAGNE. 


Also,  Sweet  and  Dry  Catawba,  Port,  Stan  and  Brandy. 


PARIS  IN  ’7 8.- ANNO  UNCEMENTS, . 


Received  the  ONLY  MEDAL  awarded  for  Copying  Presses  at 
Paris  Exposition,  18 76. 


Sold  by  every  prominent  Stationer  in  New  York.  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  and 
by  tlie  Trade  everywhere. 


PRESSES  OF  ALL  SIZES,  from  small¬ 
est  Press  for  Office  use,  to  large 
24x27  STEEL  ARCH 


FCR 

Railroad,  Express,  and  Transportation  Co.'s  use. 


Just  added  lo  our  List,  for  copying  Way 
Bills, 


Extra  Heavy  Wrought  iron  Arch  Press,  15x20  inclies, 

Styles  op  Finish  of  very  great  variety,  from  Black  Japan,  striped  in 
gilt,  to  richest  ornamentation  in  color, 

T.  SHRIVER  &  CO.  originated  the  use  oi  wheel  instead  of  t.ever  for  opera¬ 
ting  the  Press.  Nickel-Plating  nl  polished  parts— New  Designs  and 
Elegant  Styles  oi  Ornamentation. 


SH  RIVER’S 
Hydraulic  Or»a11  Bl°wer- 

A  simple,  inexpensive  and  convenient  Machine  for  sup¬ 
plying  wind  to  Church  or  Parlor  Organs,  by 
pressure  of  water  from  Ciiy  supply,  or 
other  available  source  of  pressure. 

For  Circulars,  and  any  desired  Information,  address. 


PARIS  IV  ’78.  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Bigelow  Carpet  Company. 


- .  Oo^oO  — - 

Highest  Award  wherever  Exhibited, 

- -  — <  o=§=o  - - - 


Philadefphia,  1876.  Paris,  1878. 

- -  Oo§oO, - 

THE  ORIGINAL 


WM.  B.  KENDALL, 


SOLE  AGENT, 


100  and  102  WORTH  STREET,  MEW  YORK. 


PARIS  IN  78.—. ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


BARBOUR’S 


Irish  Flax  Threads. 


FOR  distinguished  excellence  in  Linen  Threads  and  Yarns  of  all 
kinds.  This  is  the  only  Grand  Prize  given  to  Ireland,  and  the 
only  one  received  by  any  Thread  Manufacturer  in  the  World. 


OF  EVERY  DESCRIPTION. 


Qlhese  threads  take  the  lead  in  Strength  and  Smoothness. 


For  Sale  by  all  Leading  Jobbers. 


&  SONS,  Tliread  Work,  Liston,  Ireland. 


PARIS  IN  ’78 .—ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


McKesson  &  Robbins, 

EXPO RTEltS,  IMPORTERS,  AND  JOBBERS  OF 

^ruggisls  jpitnbms,  tit., 

AND  MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Chemical  and  Pharmaceutical  Preparations. 


VieDna.  1873. 


Philadelphia,  1876. 


jnSflESf  :£«- 


-He  Tiwmu, 


MCKESSON  &  ROBBINS’  Gelatine  Coated  Pills. 

MCKESSON  &  ROBBINS’  Fluid  Extracts  of  Medicinal  Barks,  Leaves 

and  Roots. 

MCKESSON  &  ROBBINS’  Cinchona  Alkaloids,  Sulph.  Quinine,  Sulph. 

Cinchonidia,  &c. 


Offices,  Nos.  91,  93  and  95  Fulton  Street. 
Warehouses  and  Factory  in  Fulton  and  Ann  Streets, 
NEW  YORK. 


26 


PARIS  IN  ’78.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


GEO.  PALEN  &  CO,, 

=  87  = 

GOLD  STREET, 

NEW  YORK. 

T  A  NNE~R8s 

And  Commission  Merchants  in 


Leather  for  Export  Trade 

A  SPECIALTY. 


Tanneries  . —  Addison,  Athens,  Limestone  and 

Southport. 


GEO.  PALEN,  1 
A.  L.  KNIGHT  j 


4S-  The  Limestone  and  Athens  Tanneries  especially 
adapted  to  Leathers  for  the  European  Markets. 


PARIS'  IN  78 .—ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


J.  B.  HOYT  &  CO., 

28  and  30  SPRUCE  STREET, 

New  York  Ci‘y. 

ri 

w-  T  Jm£h 

HIGH 

Superior  Q. 

EST  AWARD  FOR 

AkJjEATHER^I 

ELTING 

0?IK+WipED-{*IiE7ITpit 


Pronounced  by  the  President  of  the  Berlin  Exhibition  of  1877  (where  It  received 
the  highest  award),  "  the  best  that  ever  reached  the  European  Continent.’' 


Received  Medal  at  the  Philadelphia  Centennial  Exhibition,  1876  ;  the  Lorillard 
Medal  ot  the  American  Institute,  1874,  Ac. 


PARIS  EXHIBITION,  1878, 


PARIS  IN  '7S—ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


PARIS  IN  78.—. ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


THE 

|  ONLY  AWARD  i 

'b _ _ _ S' 


FOR  AMERICAN 

-HcINKg, 

AT 

Paris  Exposition 

1378, 


TO 

7UC.->F0¥T, 

28  Frankfort  St., 

New  York. 


“Awarded  for  superior  body,  unequalled  distributing  quali¬ 
ties,  brilliancy  and  purity  of  color.” 


Ci 


THE  INGERSOLL 

ECLIPSE : ”|SH 


The  most  Simple,  Durable  and  Effective. 

100  Working  in 
SUTRO  TUNNEL  and  COMSTOCK  LODE 
Special  Mining,  Railroad  and  Submarine 
Drills  made,  also 

AIR-COMPRESSORS. 


Has  received,  the  highest  Medals  wherever  exhibited . 

Awarded  the  Silver  Medal  at  Paris 
Exposition,  1878. 


INGERSOLL  ROCK  DRILL  CO. 

Is  Park  Place,  Hew  York. 

Send  for  Catalogue. 


NANIS  IX  ' 78  —ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


PWIM878 

<-!lf]fHvl{ROW]^v('7iIi0KI(3vE]VGINER- 

" 

Simple  in  Construction. 

Substantial  and  Durable. 

No  Danger  of  Explosion. 

Cheapest  Running  Expense. 


Apply,  for  particulars,  to  the  Manufacturers, 

A.  &  F.  BROWN, 

57,  59  and  61  Lewis  Street, 


NEW  YORK  CITY. 


ESTABLISHED  184=3. 


PA BIS  IN  '19,.- ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


HIGHEST  PRIZE  WHENEVER  AND  WHEREVER  OFFERED  FOR  COMPETITION. 


PARIS  IN  'IS  — ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


W.  J.  WILCOX  &  CO.. 


AMERICAN 


Ijtfbml  %m\  ;u|rf  Tnrtl  IHl 


Prepared  for  Export  to  all  Countries. 


WORLD  EEISTOWdSTEI). 


Washington,  Greenwich  and  Vestry  Sts.,  N.  Y.,  U.  S.  A. 


SALES  OFFICE  41  BROAD  STREET,  NEW  TORE. 


Highest  Award  at  Philadelphia,  1ST3.  Legion  of  Honor  and  Gold  Medal  at 

Paris.  13TS. 


PARIS  IN  ’78.—  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Awarded  Highest  Prize  Paris  Exposition,  1878. 


The  above  is  a  cut  of  Gregg’s  No.  2  Brick  Machine,  simple,  strong,  and  efficient,  for 
making  and  re-pressing  bricks. 

Gregg's  Triple  Pressure  Brick  Machines.  Gregg’s  Combination  Brick  Machines. 
Gregg’s  Steam-Power  Re- Pressing  Machines.  Gregg’s  Hand- Power  Presses. 

Agents  wanted  in  every  city  and  town.  Send  for  Catalogue. 

W.  L.  GREGG, 

402  Walnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and 
“Boreel  Building,”  115  B’way,  New  York. 


ESTABLISHED  1817. 


PARIS  IN  -n.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


i— » 

c 

'W 

pp 

O 


o 


r>) 

po 

GQ 


s» 
N 
© 

as 
as 
o 
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S. 

•s 

£ 

K) 

cs> 


sap 


gT© 


PARIS  IN  'IS.— ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


CENTENNIAL  AWARD. 

Valentine  &  Company,  New  York. 

A  full  display  of  Varnishes  for  Carriage  and  Railway  Car  Makers’  use. 
The  merits  and  qualities  of  these  Varnishes  are  fully  sustained  by  numerous 
and  reliable  testimonials  and  affidavits  of  parties  who  have  used  them,  and 
by  the  presence  in  the  Exhibition  of  many  carriages  of  the  best  makers  in 
the  country  which  have  been  finished  with  them,  and  furnish  further  positive 
proof  of  the  great  excellence  of  these  Varnishes  in  Working  Quality,  Color, 
Brilliancy  and  Durability. 

THOS.  GODDARD, 

M.  GUIET, 

WM.  DUFFUS, 

B.  F.  MOORE, 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A.  Judges. 


Established  1830. 


William  Tilden  &  Stokes, 

CGflcji  4  r^imwHY  YWP? 

A  SPECIALTY. 

(PR_IjrOI(PJLZ  OFIICN: 

Cor.  First  Avenue  and  Thirty-first  Street, 
JVew  York  City . 


PARIS  IN  ’78.  -  ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


AND 


ROAD  WAGONS. 


BREWSTER  &  CO.  (of  Broome  St), 
BROAD  WAT,  47th  and  48th  Sts  , 

(ONLY  PLACE  OF  BUSINESS.) 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


The  Standard  for  Strictly  First-Class  Carriages  for  Town  and 
Country  Use.  Manufacturers  of  the  well-known 

BREWSTER  WAGON. 

All  fitted  with  the  “Rubber  Cushioned  Axle.” 


Recipients  of  Decoration  of  Legion  of  Honor,  Gold  Medal 
and  Diplomas,  and  Bronze  Medals  to  five  heads  of  depart¬ 
ments,  at  Paris  Exposition,  1878. 


PARIS  IN  ’78.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


THE  HIGHEST  RECOMPENSE  OVER  ALL  COMPETITION.  • 

PATHS,  X 867. 


Op 


gol»  «v">V 


108  FEB® 

At  Exhibitions  in  the  U.  C.  First  Premium  over  all  Competition, 


^altt„U±ersa/W. 


eiiCEEinrc  &  gem 

No.  130  Fifth.  Avenue,  New  York. 


PARIS  IN  78 -ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


DE  VENOGE  &  00., 

EPERNAY  ( Marne),  FRANCE. 


Established  Half  a  Century. 


The  Sales  of  this  popular  Champagne  in  France, 
England,  Germany,  Russia,  United  States,  and 
other  parts  of  the  "World,  are— 


Sales  for  1878,  over  180,000  Dozen. 


Branch  Houses:— Paris,  5  Rue  Scribe;  London,  5  Mark  Lane. 


LEON  De  VENOGE, 

SOLE  AGENT  FOR  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA, 

37  SOUTH  WILLIAM  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


ESTABLISHED 


PARIS  IN  HZ.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


GOLD  MEDAL  AT  PARIS  EXPOSITION,  1878. 


F.  BOOSS  &  BRO., 

IMPORTERS  AMD 

Manufacturers  of  Fine  Furs 

AND  DEALERS  IN 

SKINS  AND  FURRIERS’  TRIMMINGS, 

449  BROADWAY  and  26  MERCER  ST., 

Between  Howard  and  Grand  Sts.,  NEW  YORK. 


Highest 

AWARD 


Centennial 

EXHIBITION, 


AT  THE 


1876. 


HGILLOTTS 


PARIS  IN  ’78 .—ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


Wholesale  Warehouse,  qi  John  Street,  New 


PARIS  IN  '78. — A NNO  UNCEMENTS. 


THE  WORLD’S  STANDARD. 


Seven  Medals- 


FAIRBANKS  &  CO.,  Scale  Manufacturers,  received  at  the 
Paris  Exhibition  Seven  Medals. 

Their  Weighing  Machines  received  Twice  as  many  Gold 
Medals  as  any  other  Scales. 

More  Medals  of  all  kinds  than  any  other  Scales. 

More  Medals  than  were  ever  Awarded  any  other  Ex¬ 
hibitor  at  any  World’s  Fair. 

Gold  Medal  at  a  higher  rating  than  any  other  Scales. 

The  only  Medal  for  Precision  in  Scales. 

And  was  The  only  Scale  which  was  placed  in  the  Palace 
of  Industry  at  the  Distribution  of  Awards,  as  a  Trophy  of 
American  Skill  and  Mechanism. 

FAIRBANKS  &  CO- 

No.  311  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


PARIS  IN  ’78. — ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


ILSON 


EXPOSITION 


Champ-de-J/Tars, 

UNIVERSELLE  INTERNATIONALE 
de  1878. 

— - -  (Paris.  8th  JTov.,  1878 

COMMISSARIAT  GENERAL 

ETATS  UNIS  D’AMERIQUE. 

I  have  examined  the  official  list  of  awards  at  the  Universal  Exposi¬ 
tion,  as  published  by  the  French  Authorities,  and  find  that  only  one 
Grand  (Prize  was  awarded  for  Sewing  JVEachines ;  that  was  given  to 
the  Wheeler  Wilson  Company  of  JTew  York. 

(Zhe  Grand  Gold  J/Ledal  and  Qiploma  were  delivered  to  me  at  the 
(Palace  de  V Industrie,  October  SI,  and  by  me  at  once  given  to  the  repre¬ 
sentative  of  that  Company  at  the  Exposition. 

(Signed,) 


WHEELER  &  WILSON 


Com.  General. 

M’F’G  CO., 


14,  14th  Street,  Union  Square, 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


Factory  at  Bridgeport,  Conn. 


167  Tremont  Street 

BOSTON.  MASS. 


PARIS  IN  78 .—ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


THE 

Howe  Sewing  Machine  Co. 

28  Union  Square,  New  York  City. 


AWARDED 

AT  THE 


JS67  §  JS7S 
HIGHEST  PRIZES: 


AND 


GOLD  MEDAL. 


This  cut  is  a  cor¬ 
rect  representation 
of  the  first  Sewing 
Machine.  It  was 
constructed  by  Elias 
Howe,  Jr.,  and  in 
April,  1845,  sewed 
the  first  seam  ever 
made  by  machinery. 
This  fact  has  been 
established  beyond 


dispute,  notwith¬ 
standing  the  musty 
archives  of  every  na¬ 
tion  on  the  face  of 
the  globe  have  been 
searched,  and  un¬ 
scrupulous  pretend¬ 
ers  brought  forward 
in  the  vain  endeavor 
to  prove  a  prior  in¬ 
vention. 


PARIS  IN  78 .—ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


PARIS  IN  ’78 .—ANNO  UNCEMENTS, 


JOHN  MATTHEWS, 

First  Avenue  and  Twenty-Sixth  Street, 

NEW  YORK  CITY, 

Manufacturer  of  Marble,  Steel,  and  all  descriptions  of  approved 

SODA  FOUNTAINS, 

And  all  the  appliances  for  the  making  and  dispensing  of 

SODA  and  MINERAL  WATERS. 

INTRODUCER  OF  FINE  AND  PURE  DERATED 
BEVERAGES  INTO  EUROPE. 


SUPPLIER  OF  SODA  FOUNTAINS.  SODA  AND  MINERAL  WATERS,  AND 
ALL  THE  MATERIALS  USED  IN  THEIR  MANUFACTURE 
AND  DISPENSING,  TO 

All  the  Cities  of  America 


AND 

Most  of  those  of  Europe  and  Australia. 


PRIZE  MEDALS  AT  ALL  THE  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITIONS 

ESPECIALLY  AT  THE 

PARIS  EXPOSITION  OF  1878, 

FOR 

FOUNTAINS  OF  UNEQUALLED  STRENGTH,  RARE  ARTISTIC  BEAUTY 
AND  ALL  THE  CONDITIONS  OF  HEALTHFULNESS. 


This  Establishment  literally  supplies  more  than  half  the  world  with  Soda 
Fountains,  Soda  Water,  Mineral  Waters  and  their  appliances. 


PARIS  IN  78.—. ANNO  UNCEMPNTS. 


Drexel,  Morgan  &  Co., 

Wall  Street,  Corner  of  Broad 
JJEW  YO(RK, 


DREXEL  &  CO.,  DREXEL,  HARJES  &  CO. 

34  South  Third  Street,  3,  Hue  Scribe, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PARIS, 


ISS'CJE 


m 


n. 


RAVELLING  (jREDITS 


Available,  in  all  parts  of  the  world. ’ 


Tit jittsfttYEs 

TJ  AND  FROM 


Ea;.A.,-v,A.3sr^., 

ANB 


Attorneys  and  Agents  of 


Messrs,  J,  S,  MORGAN  &  CO,  London. 


PARIS  IX  ’78.—  ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


BROWN  BROTHERS  4  CO, 


WALL 


ftEW  YOJ^K, 


Issue  against  cash  deposited,  or  satisfactory  guarantee  of  repayment, 
Circular  Credits  for  Travellers,  in  Dollars  for  use  in  the  United  States 
and  adjacent  countries,  and  in  rounds  Sterling  for  use  in  any  part  of 
the  world. 

These  credits,  bearing  the  signature  of  the  holder,  afford  a  ready 
means  of  identification  ;  and  the  amounts  for  which  they  are  issued  can 
be  availed  of  from  time  to  time,  and  wherever  he  may  be,  in  sums  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  traveller. 

Applications  for  Credits  may  be  made  to  the  above  house  direct,  or 
through  any  first-class  bank  or  banker  in  America. 


They  also  ksue  Commercial  Credits,  make  Cable  Transfers  of  Money 
between  America  and  England,  and  Draw  Bills  of  Exchange  on  Great 
Bri‘ain  and  Ireland. 


Founder's  Court,  Lothbury.  London. 


Chapel  Street,  Liverpool. 


PARIS  IR  ’78.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


THE  UNITED  STATES 

LIFE  INSURANCE  CO. 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 

(Incorporated  (850,) 

261,  262  &  263  BROADWAY, 

NEW  YORK. 


ASSETS, 

SURPLUS, 


$4,87-4,947  01 
$826,873  99 


J71PH£  BIIEItlt,  -  -  PI^EJSIDEJI¥, 

(Also  President  Imp.  and  Traders  Nat’l  B’k.) 

C.  P,  FRALEIGH,  Secretary. 

T.  H.  BROSHAH,  Sup’t  of  Agencies. 

GEO.  H.  BERFORD,  Actuary. 


ALL  FORMS  OF  HE  AND  ENDOWMENT  FOLKS  ISSUED. 


Read  our  New  Form  of  Policy,  on  opposite  page,  and  mark  its  special 
advantages  : 

FutsT. — It  is  non-forfeiting  after  three  years,  upon  notice. 

Second. — The  entire  reserve  is  allowed  as  a  single  premium  to  continue 
the  Policy  at  its  full  face. 

Third,— After  three  years  ell  the  usual  restrictions  and  conditions 


cease. 


Sum  Insured  $  No.  Premium  $ 

THE  UNITED  STATES  LIFE  INSURANCE  COMPANY 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 

In  consideration  of  the  payment  to  it  of  the  premium  of  dollars  aud 

cenis  on  or  before  the  day  of  during  each  year  for  the  next  years 

of  the  life  hereby  insured, 

Doth  assure  the  life  of  (hereinafter  called  the  insured)  for  the  amount  of 

dollars,  for  the  term  of  his  natural  life,  commencing  on  the 
day  of  18  at  noon ; 

And  doth  agree  to  pay  the  sum  assured,  at  its  office  in  New  York  City,  to  if  living,  and  if  not 

living,  then  to  the  executors;  administrators  or  assigns  of  the  insured,  in  three  months  after  due  notice  and 
satisfactory  proofs  of  the  death  of  the  insured  and  ol  the  just  claim  of  the  beneficiaries  under  this  policy,  the 
balance  of  the  year’s  premium,  if  any,  and  any  other  indebtedness  to  the  Company,  being  first  deducted 
therefrom : 

Upon  the  conditions  and  agreements  following  : 

I.  This  policy  shall  not  take  effect  until  the  first  premium  hereon  shall  have  been  paid,  and  both  the 
Receipt  therefor  and  this  Policy  be  delivered  to  the  assured  personally,  during  the  lifetime  and  sound  health 
of  the  insured:  and  in  case  any  premium  or  payment  required  or  agreed  to  be  made  now  or  hereafter,  in 
connection  with  this  insurance,  shall  not  be  so  paid  when  due,  then  this  contract  shall  become  null  and  void, 
and  of  no  effect,  except  that 

II.  After  there  shall  have  been  paid  under  this  contract  three  full  years’  premiums,  if  default  shall  be  made 
in  any  payment  above  specified,  the  entire  reserve  on  this  Policy,  including  dividend  additions  thereon,  as 
calculated  at  that  date  according  to  the  American  Experience  Table  of  Mortality,  with  interest  at  the  rate 
of  four  and  one-half  per  ceut.  per  annum  and  the  net  annual  premiums  method,  after  deducting  at  their 
face  the  unpaid  deferred  or  fractional  part  of  the  anuual  premium  which  may  belong  to  the  then  current 
policy-year,  together  with  the  amount  of  any  note,  draft,  indebtedness  or  charge  (with  the  interest  accrued 
thereon)  against  this  Policy  (other  than  such  amount  which  may  represent  said  deferred  or  fractional  prem¬ 
ium  already  included),  shall,  ou  written  demand  made  at  the  Company’s  principal  office  in  New  York  City, 
upon  the  blank  forms  furnished  by  the  Company  on  application  therefor,  within  six  months  after  sucli  default, 
and  during  the  life  of  the  insured,  be  taken  as  a  single  premium  to  continue  the  insurance  named  in  this  Pol¬ 
icy  in  force  at  its  full  amount,  for  such  time  beyond  such  default  as  such  single  premium  will  purchase  that 
amount  as  [non-participating]  Paid-up  insurance  at  the  Company’s  present  published  rates,  taken  at  the  age 
[nearest  birthday]  of  the  insured  at  the  date  of  said  default,  subject  to  all  the  conditions  and  agreements  of 
this  Contract :  Provided,  however,  that  if  the  death  of  the  insured  occurs  within  three  years  after  such  default, 
and  during  such  continued  time  of  insurance,  there  shall  be  deducted  from  the  principal  sum  payable  the 
amount  ot  all  payments  that  would  have  become  due  up  to  the  time  of  said  death,  had  no  default  occurred. 

III.  All  premiums  are  payable  in  New  York  City  at  the  Company’s  office.  No  payment  made  to  any; 
person,  except  in  exchange  for  a  receipt  therefor,  signed  by  the  President,  Secretary,  Assistant-Secretary,  or 
Actuary,  and  in  accordance  with  the  terms  and  provisions  of  such  receipts,  and  in  cash,  will  be  valid. 

IV.  If  any  of  the  statements  contained  In  the  Application  herefor  are  found  to  be  untrue  in  any  respect,  or 
if  any  of  the  agreements  therein  are  violated,  thereupon  this  contract  shall  become  null  and  void. 

V.  If  Wit  hill  three  yenrs  from  the  date  named  for  the  commencement  of  this  insurance  the  insured 
shall  die  in  consequence  of  a  duel ;  or  by  the  hands  of  justice  ;  or  in  consequence  of  the  violation  of  or  at-, 
tempt  to  violate  any  law  ;  or  of  resistance  to  any  legally  constituted  authority;  or  by  disease,  violence  or, 
accident  brought  about  by  his  intoxication  ;  or  by  any  act  of  self-destruction  whatever,  whether  voluntary  or 
involuntary,  whether  he  be  sane  or  insane  at  the  time  ;  or  shall  impair  his  health  by  narcotics  or  stimulants;] 
or  shall  have  delirium  tremens ;  or  without  previous  consent  of  tnis  Company,  signed  by  the  President,  to¬ 
gether  with  the  Secretary  or  Actuary  thereof,  shall  pass  beyond  those  parts  of  the  settled  regions  of  civilized 
habitation  ol  the  United  States  and  Dominion  of  Canada,  which  lie  between  the  parallels  of  50  degrees,  and 
36  degrees  30  minutes  north  latitude  ;  or  those  parts  of  Europe  which  lie  north  of  the  42nd  parallel  of  north! 
latitude ;  or  shall  remain  after  July  1st  and  belore  November  1st  within  those  parts  of  the  United  States] 
which  lie  south  of  the  parallel  of  36  degrees  30  minutes  north  latitude  (residence  in  the  settled  regions  olj 
civilized  habitation  thereof  being  permitted  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  and  travel  being  permitted  by  first-1 
class  vessels  by  direct  route  between  any  of  the  above  allowed  parts,  provided  no  port  is  entered  not  included 
at  the  time  in  the  limits  above  allowed  for  residence  and  travel)  ;  or  shall  personally  engage,  without  like] 
consent,  in  blasting,  mining,  submarine  labor,  neronautic  excursions,  the  manufacture,  handling  or  transporta¬ 
tion  of  inflammable  or  explosive  substances ;  service  upon  any  railroad,  steamboat  or  other  vessel  or  boat;) 
military  or  naval  service  of  every  kind,  whether  as  combatant  or  non-combatant  (the  militia  in  time  of  peace  I 
excepted),  this  contract  shall  become  null  and  void. 

VI.  The  contract  of  insurance  is  contained  only  in  this  Policy  and  the  Application  [which  is  hereby  made 
part  hereof],  taken  together,  and  none  of  its  terms  or  conditions  shall  be  modified  or  waived,  except  in  writ-1 
ing,  signed  by  the  President,  together  with  the  Secretary  or  Actuary. 

VII.  In  every  case  where  this  contract  would  become  null  and  void  all  payments  made  thereon  shall  be 
forfeited  to  the  Company. 

VIII.  The  proofs  of  death,  and  of  just  claim  aforesaid,  shall  be  furnished  to  the  Company  within  one  year 
after  such  death,  under  oath,  and  in  accordance  with  the  blanks  furnished  by  the  Company  therefor.  Any 
fraud  or  attempt  at  fraud  shall  forfeit  all  claim  on  this  Company  ;  no  action  or  proceedmg  shall  be  brought 
under  this  contract  after  eighteen  months  from  the  date  of  such  death. 

IX.  This  Company  shall  not  take  notice  of  any  assignment  of  this  policy  until  a  duplicate  of  such  assign¬ 
ment  be  delivered  to  it  at  its  office  in  New  York  City. 

X.  This  policy  shall  participate  in  the  protits  of  the  Company  as  determined  and  declared  by  the  Company 
iroiu  time  to  time. 

In  witness  whereof)  the  said  Company  lias,  by  its  President  and  Secretary,  signed  this  policy  at  its 
office  in  New  York  City,  the  day  of  eighteen  hundred  and 

. . . . Pbksidrnt. 


[Wife’s  Life  Participating,  Ed.  779.] 


.Secretary. 


PARIS  IN  ’78 .—ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


No.  120  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


jSZZ  Gash. 


IJIPOIWflpT  /I X X< X C K]:I K X T ,  JULY,  JS79. 


The  following  important  concessions  are  made  to  policy-holders  throughout  the 
United  States. 

1.  Policies  will  be  made  incontestable  after  three  years  from  their  date. 

2.  Each  ordinary  policy  will  provide  for  a  definite  surrender-value  in  paid-up  as¬ 
surance,  in  case  the  policy  is  forfeited  after  three  years  from  this  date. 

3.  Each  Tontine  policy  will  contain  a  definite  surrender-value  in  cash,  in  case  of 
withdrawal  at  the  end  of  the  Tontine  period. 

4.  The  contract  will  be  concisely  and  clearly  expressed,  containing  only  such  pre¬ 
visions  as  are  necessary  to  protect  the  policy-holders. 

5.  The  above  concessions  will  hereafter  inure  to  the  benefit  of  all  policies  already  issued 
and  in  force,  after  three  years  from  their  dates  respectively , 


PARIS  IJSf  78. — ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


The  Mutual  Life 


INSURANCE  COMPANY 

OF  NEW  YORK 


140  to  146  BROADWAY, 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


F.  S.  Winston,  President. 


PARIS  IJST  ’78. — AN~NO  UN  CEMENTS. 


La  Caisse  Generale 

Insurance  Company, 


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T.  J.  TEMPLE,  p 
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Manager  Middle  States. 


W.  G.  McCORMICK, 
B.  D.  WEST, 


J.  B.  BENNETT,  - 
HUTCHINSON  &  MANN, 
DARGAN  &  TREZEVANT, 


-  General  Agent  New  England  States. 

CHICAGO; 

-  Local  Agent. 

-  -  -  General  Superintendent  Western  States. 

ST.  LOUIS; 

-------  -  General  Agent. 

SAN  FRANCISCO: 

------  General  Agents. 

-  General  Agents. 


DALLAS,  TEXAS  : 


PARIS  IN  ’78.— ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


ORGANIZED  1844. 


n. 


INSURANCE  COMPANY, 


OF 


37  PH.AMOE. 


ADMINISTRATORS: 

President,  M.  DTJOLEEO,  (Former  Minister  of  Finance;  at  present  Senator.) 
M.  H.  CHARLON,  Managing  Director. 


EOTJ5CI^Ii  £T?I¥EjaE]W,  JIIEY  ],  JS79. 


Cash  Capital,  -------  4,000,000f. 

Net  Surplus,  ------  6,500, OOOf. 

AMERICAN  INVESTMENTS,  Registered  Bonds.  1  -  -  $450,000 


TRUSTEES  IN  NEW  YORK: 

Mr.  GEORGE  C.  MAGOUN,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Kidder,  Peabody  &  Co., 
of  Boston  and  New  York. 

Mr.  RICHARD  BUTLER,  of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Howard,  Sanger  &  Co., 
of  New  York. 

Mr.  EUGENE  KELLY,  of  the  firms  of  Messrs.  Eugene  Kelly  &  Co.,  of  New 
York,  and  Donohoe,  Kelly  &  Co.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Mr.  LOUIS  de  BEBIAN,  Agent  General  Transatlantic  Steamship  Co. 


MONROSE  &  MULVILLE, 


General  Agents, 


1SS 


KTEW 


HUTCHINSON  &  MANN, 

General  Agents, 

S  -A-  UST  FRANCISCO,  CAL. 


PARIS  IN  78.— ANNOUNCEMENTS '. 


S&  The  New  Novels 


An  Unmistalka'ble  Flirtation. —  A  chatty  new  novel  for  Sea  Shore  and 
Watering  Places,  by  Louis  Garner.  The  spicy  young  lady  who  flirts  with,  and  capti¬ 
vates  every  man  she  meets,  will  be  easily  recognized  by  Piazza  frequenters.  Price 
75  cents. 

Her  Friend  Laurence. — An  intensely  interesting  new  Society  novel,  by  Frank 
Lee  Benedict ,  author  of  “My  Daughter  Elinor,”  “ ’l'wixt  Hammer  and  Anvil,” 
“Madame/'&c.  Price  $i.  50. 

Two  of  Us* — A  charming  little  novel,  by  Calista  Halsey  ;  especially  interesting  to 
lovers  of  Decorative  Art,  and  to  young  women  with  or  without  a  Lover.  Price  75 
cents  and  $1.00. 

Ange. — A  new  novel,  by  Florence  Marryatt ,  author  of  “Love’s  Conflict.”  Price 
75  cents  and  $1.00. 

Cnpicl  on  Crutches.—  A  Vacation  Love  Story,  or  one  Summer  at  Narragansett 
Pier.  By  A.  P.  W.  of  “The  Elmwood  Club.”  75  cents. 


Wired.  Love. — A  bright  little  Telegraphic  romance,  by  Ella  Cheever  Thayer . 
Price  75  cents. 

Sorry  Her  Lot  WS10  Loves  Too  Well.— A  charming  novel,  by  Miss  Grant, 
author  of  “  The  Sun  Maid,”  & c.  Price  75  cents  and  $1.00. 

Heart’s  Delight. — A  fresh  and  readable  new  novel  by  E.  W.  A.  Cloth  bound. 
Price  $1.50. 

The  Two  Brides. — A  new  novel  by  Rev.  Bernard  O'  Reilly,  author  of  “  Heroic 
Women.”  Price  $1.50. 

Gervaise  [  L’AssommoirJ. — The  only  unabridged  translation,  by  Binsse,  of 
Zola's  great  French  novel,  L'Assommoir.  With  a  portrait.  Price  $1.00. 

II.  M.  Pinafore. — Carleton’s  Libretto  edition.  With  Portraits  from  life. 

Price  10  cents. 

Lady  Darner’s  Secret. — A  novel  by  Bertha  Clay ,  author  of  “  Thrown  on  the 
World,”  &c.  $1.50. 

Mississippi  Ouflaws  and  Detectives. — A  thrilling  new  book,  by  Allan 
Pinkerto?i,  author  of  “  Molly  Maguires  and  Detectives.”  Price  $1.50. 

Fallen  among  Thieves. — A  novel  by  M \  Louise  Rayne,  author  of  “  Against 
Fate.”  $1.50. 

Spell  Bound.  A  vivid  and  intense  novel,  by  Alexander  Dumas.  Cloth  bound. 
Price  75  cents. 

A  Southern  Woman’s  Story. — By  Phoebe  Yates  Pember ,  of  South  Carolina. 
Price  75  cents. 

Les  Miseral>les. — A  new  and  handsome  edition  of  this  famous  novel,  by  Victor 
Hugo.  Cloth  bound.  Elegant.  Price  $1.50.  Unabridged  and  unaltered. 


These  books  are  all  beautifully  printed  and  bound.  Sold  everywhere — and  sent 
by  mai \,  postage  free,  on  receipt  of  price,  by 

G.  W,  CARLET0N  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

Madison  Square,  New  York. 


PARIS  IJST  78.-  ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


NEW  EDITION 

OF 

PARIS  IN  '6  7.” 


In  order  to  meet  late  demands  for  the  companion  volume  to  ‘  ‘  Paris 
and  Half-Europe  in  ’78  Mr.  Morford’s  account  of  the  Paris  Expo¬ 
sition  of  1867,  called  “Paris  in  ’67” — a  new  edition  of  that  book, 
limited  in  number,  will  be  issued  immediately.  No  pleasanter  or  more 
instructive  reminder  of  the  “old  days”  of  the  Empire,  can  be  found, 
than  in  this  volume,  in  which  “Our  Boy  Tommy”  had  his  origin, 
and  the  gayeties  of  Paris  at  the  height  of  the  glory  of  Napoleon  III., 
were  so  merrily  described,  with  many  of  the  most  attractive  scenes  on 
the  Continent  as  “Side  Shows.” 

Send  early  orders  to 


G.  W.  CARLETON,  Publisher, 

Madison  Square,  Mew  York  City. 


PARIS  US  ’78.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


OUR  AMERICAN  MAGAZINES. 


The  marvellous  beauty  of  the  illustrated  magazines  of  this  country  is 
attracting  attention  throughout  the  world.  The  edition  of  Scribner  in 
England  has  doubled  within  a  few  months.  The  London  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Times  says  :  ‘  The  whole  lot  of  magazine  annuals  (English) 
put  together,  are  not  equal  in  pictorial  art  to  a  single  number  of  Scribner’s 
Monthly.”  But  the  price  at  which  our  magazines  are  sold  is  even  a 
greater  marvel.  For  example,  a  single  number  of  Scribner’s  contains 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pages  of  letter-press,  and  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  illustrations,  many  of  which  are  works  of  art  such  as  before  the 
advent  of  Scribner  appeared  only  in  gift  works  and  purely  art  magazines, 
and  yet  it  is  sold for  jy  cents.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  an  illustrated 
book  to  match  it  at  $5.  The  subscribers  for  the  current  year,  get,  in 
Scribner,  four  full-paged  portraits,  and  nearly  two  thousand  pages  of  text 
(equal  to  5,000  book  pages)  of  the  choicest  current  literature,  with  more 
than  1,000  illustrations,  completed  novels,  shorter  stories,  poems,  reviews, 
descriptions  of  travel,  the  latest  thoughts  in  science  and  art,  biographical 
sketches,  &c.,  and  papers  of  travel  and  exploration  in  various  parts  of  the 
world. 

In  Children’s  Periodicals,  too,  America  leads  the  world  with  St.  Nicholas. 
Trof.  Proctor,  the  astronomer,  writes  from  London  :  ‘ 1  What  a  wonderful 
magazine  it  is  for  the  young  folks !  Our  children  are  quite  as  much 
delighted  with  it  as  American  children  can  be.  I  will  net  say  they  are 
more  delighted,  as  that  may  not  be  possible.”  St.  Nicholas  is  sold  for  25 
cents  a  number,  and  fourteen  numbers  (November,  1S7S  to  1SS0)  are  given 
for  $3. 

At  first  glance  one  would  say,  literature,  art,  and  cheapness  can  no  further 
go — but  in  this  country  intelligence  is  so  widespread,  and  artistic  culture  is 
so  extended,  that  there  is  scarcely  any  end  to  the  demand  for  such  magazines 
as  Scribner’s  for  grown-ups  and  St.  Nicholas  for  children,  and,  as  the 
sale  of  these  publications  increases  their  conductors  will  continue  to  add  new 
features  of  excellence  and  attraction. 

SCCRIBISrER  &  CO., 

74-3  Broadway,  New  York. 


PARIS  IN  "18  — ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Z  ELL’S 

ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

With  35  Large  and  Beautiful  Maps. 


Price,  complete,  -  -  $37.BO  and  $40. 

Also  Sold  in  Nos.  at  50c.  each. 


The  shape  of  the  book,  type,  plan  of  the  work,  &c.,  have  been  made 
to  produce  the  greatest  amount  of  matter  in  the  smallest  space,  and  at 
the  lowest  cost.  The  amount  of  printed  matter  is  equal  to  that  of 
the  largest  Encyclopedia  published  by  an  American  firm.  While  every 
essential  fact  and  date  is  included  in  each  article,  yet  every  subject 
is  so  condensed  that  our  Encyclopedia  has  five  times  as  many  articles 
as  the  most  voluminous  ones. 

This  gives  not  only  the  convenience  of  compactness,  but  enables  you 
to  make  references  in  so  short  a  time  that  you  are  tempted  to  look 
them  up  when  your  interest  is  aroused,  and  they  are  thus  fastened  in 
your  mind. 

B.  W.  BOND, 

No.  5  Beekman  St., 


NEW  YORK  CITY. 


PARIS  IN  ’78  —ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


Map  and  Book  Publishers, 

59  BEEKMAN  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


S  T  ^  :£sr  ID  ^  IR.  ID 

MAPS,  ATLASES,  GAZETTEERS  AND  GUIDES. 


PUBLISHERS  OF  THE 


FOR 

TOURISTS  and  00MMER0IAL  TRAVELERS. 

PRICE  50  CENTS  EACH. 

SENT  POST-PAID  TO  ANY  PART  OF  THE  WORLD. 


HIGHEST  AWARD  AT  CENTENNIAL  FAIR, 

AND  AT 


PARIS  EXPOSITION  OF  18T8. 


PARIS  IN  'IS —ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


INMAN  LINE, 

Established  1850. 


City  op  Berlin,  City  of  Richmond,  City  of  Paris, 

City  of  Chester,  City  of  Brussels,  City  of  New  York, 

City  of  Montreal. 


NEW  YORK  TO  LIVERPOOL,  every  Thursday  or  Saturday, 

(From  Pier  45,  N.  R.) 

LIVERPOOL  TO  NEW  YORK,  every  Tuesday  or  Thursday, 

(Queenstown  the  day  following). 

Saloons  amidships;  S tat er ooms  large  and  -wall  ventilated ;  and 
every  modern  convenience. 


RATES  OF  PASSAGE. 

$80  and  $100,  according  to  accommodation.  Children  between  2  and  12,  half  fare. 
Servants,  $50.  Round  Trip  Tickets,  good  for  12  months,  $135  and  $160. 

To  London,  $7  additional.  To  Paris,  $15  and  $20  additional, 
according  to  route  chosen. 

JOHN  fi.  DALE,  Agent. 

31  and  33  Broadway,  N.  7. 

Geo.  A.  Faulk,  105  South  Fourth  street,  Philadelphia.  L.  H.  Palmer, 
3  Old  State  House,  Boston.  F.  C.  Brown,  32  South  Clark  street, 
Chicago.  J.  J.  McCormick,  corner  Fourth  and  Sinithlield  streets,  Pitts¬ 
burgh. 

Vm.  INMAN,  22  Water  Street,  Liverpool. 


PARIS  IN  '7%.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


NATIONAL  LINE, 


SAILING  WEEKLY  BETWEEN 

NEW  YORK,  QUEENSTOWN,  AND  LIVERPOOL, 

AND 

HEW  YORK  and  LOEDOK  DIRECT. 


SPAIN, 
EGYPT, 
EBGLAJID, 
THE  Q,IIEEI, 
HELVETIA, 
ERIN,  ~ 


4,871  Toms. 
5,083  “ 

4,300  “ 

4,471  “ 

4,588  « 

4,577  “ 


CASABA, 
GREECE, 
PRANCE,  ■ 
HOLLAND, 
DENMARK. 
ITALY,  - 


4,27 0  Tons. 
4,310  “ 

3,076  « 

3,847  « 

3.724  “ 

4,341  “ 


One  of  tie  above  MA6YIFICEWT  STEAMERS  will  sail  from  New  York,. 
Pier  44,  North  River,  EVERY  SATURDAY,  for  Queenstown  and  Liverpool,  and 
EVERY  THURSDAY  from  New  Pier  33,  North  River,  for  London  direct, 
(Victoria  Docks.) 

The  Steamships  of  this  Line  are  amongst  the  largest  in  the  Atlantic  service  leaving  the 
Port  of  New  York,  They  have  been  constructed  by  the  most  celebrated  builders,  in 
Great  Britain,  and  are  of  great  strength  and  power,  and  of  beautiful  model,  enabling 
them  to  make  regular  passages  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  They  are  built  entirely  of  iron 
and  steel,  except  the  merely  decorative  parts,  and  divided  into  water-tight  and  fire-proof 
compartments,  with  steam  pumping,  hoisting,  and  steering  gear,  and  provided  .with  fire 
extinguishers,  improved  sounding  apparatus,  and  generally  found  throughout  in  every' 
thing  calculated  to  add  to  their  Safety,  and  to  the  Comfort  and  Convenience  of  Passengers, 
heretofore  unattained  at  Sea. 


CABIK  PASSAGE 

To  Liverpool,  Queenstown  or  London,  $50,  $60,  cr  $70,  according  to  Location  of 
Sleeping  rooms,  All  Passengers  have  equal  privileges  in  the  Saloon,  Eeturn 
Tickets  at  reduced  rates,  Steerage  Passage,  $26,  Currency. 

For  Passage,  & c.,  apply  at  the  Company’s  Offices, 


Eos.  21  and  23  Water  Street,  Liverpool,  and  at 

Eos.  69,  71  and  73  Broadway,  Eew  YorL. 

F.  W.  J.  HURST,  Manager. 


PARIS  IN  IS.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


GUION  LINE. 

UNITED  STATES  MAIL  STEAMERS  FOR 

LIVERPOOL. 


Sailing  from  New  York,  Tuesdays; 

from  Liverpool,  Saturdays. 

NEVADA,  -  -  3,350  TOWS  I  WISCONSIN,  -  3,720  TOM’S 
UTAH,  -  5,500  TOMS  MONTANA,  -  «  4,320  TOMS 

WYOMING,  -  -  3,710  TOMS  I  ARIZONA,  -  -  5,500  TOMS 

CABIN  PASSAGE,  TO  QUEENSTOWN  OE  LIVEEPOOL, 

(According  to  Berth  location,) 

$65,  $75,  $80,  Currency.  Round  Trip,  $110, 
$130,  $140.  To  London,  $5  additional. 

To  Paris,  Havre,  or  Hamburg, 

$i5  additional. 

Intermediate,  $40.  Steerage,  $26. 


WILLIAMS  &  GUION,  29  Broadway,  New  York, 

GUION  &  CO.,  25  "Water  St.,  Liverpool. 


PA  PIS  IN  78  —ANNO  UNCEMENTS. 


TP  BEJ3T  61UDE& 

CHEAP,  CONCISE,  COMPREHENSIVE,  PERFECT. 


Short-Trip  Guide  to  Europe. 

1 6  mo,  cloth,  green  and  gold,  with  Map,  $1.50. 


MOEFORD’S 

Short-Trip  Guide  to  America. 

16  mo,  cloth,  blue  and  gold,  with  Map,  $1.00. 

JZSi 5~  Make  the  most  reliable  dependence  of  travellers  on  both  Continents. 


C.  T.  DILLINGHAM, 

678  Broadway ,  New  York. 

MORFORD’S  TRAVEL  OFFICE, 

52  Broadway ,  New  York. 


4’  77  1 7 

yk< 


PARIS  IN  'IS.— ANNOUNCEMENTS. 


1878.  PARIS  EXHIBITION.  1878. 


It 


AND 


MEDAL1 


FOR 


OIE  DRESSINGS,  &0. 


TO 

B.  F.  BROWN  &  Co., 

Boston,  TJ.  S.  A., 

And  London,  England. 

Manufacturers  of 

Army  and  Navy 
Bli/ICKIP, 

And  all  kinds  of 

DRESSINGS 

FOR 

LEATHER. 
«3Crr,TiP  jITEDAlj. 


PRIZE  MEDAL  AWARDED  AT 


